Creon Antigone Analysis

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The substantial amount of power and pride Creon has mixes together to highlight the inequity between males and females and results in Creon becoming more emotional and taking everything more personal. When Creon first finds out that it is his soon to be daughter in law who is guilty, this does not stop him from punishing her, but rather angers him even more because he now knows that it is a woman who has defied his laws. Creon states "The girl is guilty of a double insolence. Who is the man here, She or I, if this crime goes unpunished?" Creon takes it personally that she has defied him. When he said a “double insolence” he means that she has done two wrongs when she buried her brother; she has broken a law but more importantly, and the reason…show more content…
Creon feels the need to prove himself as the “man”. Her being a female makes defeating her that much more pressing. When speaking to Haemon, Creon states "And no woman shall seduce us. If we must lose, Let's lose to a man, at least! Is a woman stronger than we?" Creon obviously believes that the thought of a woman outsmarting him or getting the upperhand against him is one of the worst ways to lose. He believes that women are the weaker sex and if a man must lose, he should try to save some dignity by not allowing it to be a woman who defeats him. If Creon was not to sentence Antigone to her death, he feels that it would be one of the worst humiliations to him. Creon also takes it as a personal insult when Haemon tries to convince him to rethink the punishment he sentenced Antigone. Creon reacts to Haemon by saying “Bring her out! Bring the woman out! Let her die before his eyes! Here, this instant, with her bridegroom beside her!” Creon gets offended by Haemon’s request because he views it as his son taking the side of Antigone and not his own, so he threatens to kill her before Haemon as a way of punishment. Creon starts to view all defiances or requests as a questioning in his judgement and his…show more content…
Creon's hubris shows when he ignores the warnings given to him. Haemon was the first person to warn his father that the path he's on is wrong. Haimon asks Creon to reevaluate the situation and change his punishment. He states "I beg you, do not be unchangeable. Do not believe that you alone can be right. The man who thinks that, the man who maintains that only he has the power to reason correctly, the gift to speak, the soul- a man like that, when you know him, turns out empty." Haimon begs his father to listen to what others have to say. He warns Creon that the man who refuses to be moved, the man who is stubborn, that is the man who ends up with a punishment. Creon gets mad and states that his "voice is the one voice giving orders in this city!" He refuses to be swayed by the opinions of the people, including his son's opinion. Creon also refuses to listen to the warnings of Tiresias, the most trusted seer. Tiresias comes to Creon and tells him about the vision that he has seen. Tiresias says "Think: all men make mistakes, But a good man yields when he Knows his course is wrong, And repairs the evil: The Only Crime is pride... Think I beg you: it is

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