Creon's Moment of Recognition in Antigone

Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon's love for power and authority prevents him from listening to anyone's opinion besides his own. Even when someone's life was at stake, he wanted his law to rule over his judgment. He thinks justice only occurs when punishment is involved and therefore, he sentences Antigone to death. Antigone pleaded for her life and so did his son Haemon, but Creon did not listen because his pride would not let him make correct judgments. He recognizes his wrongdoings when the Leader tells him that Creon needs to take his advice in order to be a good king. The Seer tries to convince Creon that "pride is a crime" and the people of Thebes including him would suffer because of it. The Leader is the one who convinces Creon that the Seer has never been wrong and it is important that Creon frees Antigone. Creon is able to realize that it is not his "heart desires" of power, which matters. The “established laws” that have always governed people are the laws that now need to govern the people and the king of Thebes. I know that Creon acknowledges that he made a wrong decision, but I felt like he did it out of fear so that he would not anger the Gods and suffer for it. He did not even have mercy his own son when he said he would kill himself if Creon killed his wife. Creon refuses to listen to the advice Haemon gives him because he does not need to son to teach him how to rule Thebes. I found some parts confusing because I didn’t know who or what role the leader played. He had so much influence on Creon’s decision; he must have been someone important. Throughout the play, no emotions were stirred for Creon; he did not like the notion of love or men sharing equal rights with women. All he cared about was having authority over everyone and everything in his life. The decisions he made caused him to lose everything that he ultimately cared about and for the rest of his life, he would have to live with that guilt. The seer tried to tell Creon the ability to make judgments is more important than Creon’s personal beliefs. The seer even warns Creon that if Antigone dies, Creon will lose one of his own. All this talk was pointless to Creon till everyone leaves him. He “learned through blood and tears” that the decisions he makes affects everyone’s lives. To conclude, I think Creon does have a moment of recognition towards the end of the novel, but he was too late and because of that, Creon has to live alone for the rest of his life.

Haemon in Antigone

In the city of Thebes, it is expected that everyone respects the King and the decisions he makes. Creon's son, Haemon has never gone against his father, but when Creon justifies his actions by saying he has the power to do so, Haemon goes against everything Creon believes in. The important conversation begins with Creon asking Haemon if he accepts the punishment his wife, Antigone is going to receive. Throughout the entire conversation, Haemon is pretty diplomatic because he tries to make some clear points to his father, but still shows his father that he respects him and worships him when he says, "What medal of honor brighter to his children than a father's growing glory?". Creon lectures Haemon that it is a son's job to defeat his father's enemies and to never let woman influence the decisions he makes. Creon then reveals the role he thinks women play in a man's life. After hearing all these things about what women are and aren't, Haemon tells his father that Thebes is on Antigone's side because she did the right thing by giving her brother a proper burial. At that moment, Haemon tells us what personality traits are important for a person to have and what traits aren't. He actually has the courage to tell his father "now, don't please, be quite so single minded, self-involved, or assume the world is wrong and you're right." Haemon is not trying to insult his father, but in a way is trying to help him become a better king. Creon says "the city is the king's- that's the law!" We learn that Creon is not punishing Antigone for the well being of Thebes, but for himself. He is trying to justify his actions with his personal beliefs. Creon does not see Haemon is telling him all this because he cares for him and he doesn't want his father to continue living his life with his "mindless judgments." Creon can't handle the truth and decides to threaten Haemon by telling him that he will kill Antigone. Haemon challenges his father's word and tells him if Antigone dies, he will too. Haemon does end up dying and Creons ends up wishing he had listened to what others said to him because then he would still have his loved ones with him.

Antigone

The story of Antigone is one of Sophocles traditional tragedies and it first strikes Antigone's family when her father, Oedipus, marries his mother. This leads her to kill herself and him to gauge out his eyes. Meanwhile her brothers Eteocles and Polynices kill each other while to trying to fight for the throne of Thebes. Eteocles receives a proper burial while Polynices does not because he was one of the Argives. Antigone's uncle Creon, now King of Thebes makes a law that states that anyone who even tries to bury Polynices will suffer severe consequences. Antigone does commit this crime because after all Polynices was her brother and to her, family is more important than any law. Creon sentences her to death even though Antigone is his son's wife. As a result, Haemon, Creon's son, kills himself while holding on to Antigone's legs who is hung by the neck. At the end of the story, Creon is left with nothing but regret for not listening to his son because he was so full of pride. His need to prove his manhood and authority cost him his family. Though everything that happens in the play affects Creon's life, the play is called Antigone because the writer wanted to emphasize the importance of the women in the story. Creon may have thought differently, but Antigone’s fate in the play affected everyone’s life. Antigone told Creon that she was a person who only loved and that is why she buried her brother whom she really cared about. Creon responds to this by saying, “Go down below and love, if love you must-love the dead! While I’m alive, no woman is going to lord it over me.” Creon does not want love to control the law, him, or anyone else, but in the end that is what happens. Antigone’s love for her brother took her right to live, Haemon’s love for Antigone cost him his life, Eurydice’s love for her son ended her life, and Creon’s love of power and authority cost him his family. Creon may have ruled the land of Thebes but Antigone was the one who determined everyone’s future. While reading this play, I felt that Creon kept on defining what a man is in order to prove his manhood. He did not realize the horrible things he said about the relationship between husband and wife. “Oh Haemon, never lose your sense of judgment over a woman. I warn you… a worthless woman in your house, a misery in your bed. Spit her out, like a mortal enemy- let the girl go.” With this comment, Creon shows that he constantly objectifies women by saying they are something that can just be thrown away when men are fed up with them. He was trying to teach his son to never be inferior to women, but Haemon never thought of marriage as a way of achieving power, but as a way of achieving a soul mate that he would live and die for. For him, this person was Antigone. Antigone is also the one who taught Creon the necessity of cherishing the relationships you have with people because you cannot control everything and everyone in your life, and for that reason Antigone is the name of the play.