Antigone vs. Creon

Through the story of Antigone arises the debate between the importance and the moral righteousness of family obligations versus those of the state, two important aspects in the lives of Antigone and Creon. These two characters may have differing ideas when it comes to the burial of Polyneices, but their motives behind each idea are more similar than different. Likewise, the personalities of both characters, displayed behind each motive, coincide rather than collide. As stated in the Literature book, “Though the gods approve of her [Antigone’s] action, she dies a victim of Creon’s hubris (Or perhaps, as Patricia Lines suggests on page 1358, Antigone’s own hubris is her downfall)” (1323). With this idea, it could be suggested that Antigone died a victim of both her hubris and Creon’s hubris, two ideas that have more similarities than differences.

Antigone begins by attempting to recruit her sister Ismene into helping her bury their brother Polyneices, whom Creon has refused to have a proper burial for. Antigone’s headstrong language, shown through her persistence when she later says to Creon, “Then I beg you: kill me,” and when stating to Ismene, “You shall not lessen my death by sharing it” demonstrate Antigone’s own pride. Likewise, Creon reveals a different type of pride but pride nonetheless when he refuses to listen to his son Haimon, belittling his own son when stating “You consider it right for a man of my years and experience to go to school to a boy?” (1339). Through these statements, Antigone and Creon both illustrate the dangers of pride.

Antigone attempts to guilt Ismene into burying their brother when she talks about Ismene’s lack of respect for not only their family obligations but also the law of the gods. Similarly, Creon attempts to guilt the entire city against Polyneices when he reminds the people that Polyneices went against his native city as a traitor. The mindsets of Antigone and Creon are overzealously begrudged with pride, the one thing that drives their ultimate downfalls.

The debate between family obligations versus those of the state is an important one, but through Antigone’s and Creon’s eyes, we are able to see that both mindsets behind the differing opinions are one in the same. Neither side is right, nor wrong; it is each person’s own arrogant sense of pride that drives the motive behind each opinion. Antigone may very well truly want to honor her family obligations, so as to bury Polyneices, but if her sense of pride had failed, would she have been so keen as to disobey the law that Creon has made? Likewise, Creon may have felt as strongly as he did about refusing to bury Polyneices, as he was a traitor, but could he truly not understand Antigone’s point and loyalty as the sister of Polyneices? If both characters had moved past the arrogant pride that they both possess, maybe the ending to this story would have been different. But then again, if that was what Fate had arranged for them, who can argue with that? (505)