In Sophecles’ Antigone, Creon is not a good person; in fact, he is a
stubborn, selfish ruler. Creon rarely listens to an opinion other than his
own. He also turns his back on his own niece, Antigone, because she breaks
an unfair law by burying her brother’s body. Throughout the play, Creon
ignores his son’s pleas to spare his fianc, Antigone, from execution.
Creon rarely listens to another opinion other than his own. When the
blind prophet Tiresias first brings news of his prophecy, Creon says, ”
I’ve never wavered from your advice before.” Tiresias then continues to
tell Creon of how, while practicing augury, he heard the sounds of the
birds ripping each other to pieces. When he was unable to light the
sacrifice, he realized that Creon’s pride had caused misfortune for this
city. Tiresias explains that is because of Creon’s refusal to bury
Polynices. Creon responds, “Old man-all of you, so you shoot your arrows at
my head like archers at the target…You’ll never bury that body in the
grave, not even if Zeus’s eagles rip the corpse and wing their rotten
pickings off to the throne of god!” In this scene, once Creon knows that
the prophecy is not in his favor, he changes his opinion from trusting and
following the ideas of Tiresias, to accusing him of plotting against him.
We see that once Creon realizes that Tiresias does not agree with his
opinion about the burial of Polynices’ corpse, Creon will not listen to
what the prophet has to say, even if it means causing a “plague” on the
city of Thebes.
In the play, Creon constantly ignores the pleas of his niece,
Antigone, and will eventually lead her to her death. From the beginning, we
see that Antigone is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve the honor
of her brother, Polynices, even if it means losing her own life. “He is my
brother and -deny it as you will- your brother to.” Antigone would rather
die than see the honor of her brother and her family sacrificed. When Creon
hears that the body of Polynices has been buried against his orders, he
says “Never! Sister’s child or closer in blood then all my family clustered
at my altar worshipping Guardian Zeus – she’ll never escape, she and her
blood sister, the most barbaric death”. Creon says this when he discovers
that Antigone and Ismene are plotting against his orders. The statement
shows that Creon has no interest in why Antigone proceeds to break the law
to uphold her brother’s honor.
In the play, Creon ignores not only the pleas of his niece, but also
those of his son, Haemon, who is set to marry Antigone. When Haemon says,
“When you trample down the honors of the gods?” To which Creon responds,
“You soul of corruption, rotten through, woman’s accomplice”. Creon
automatically accuses Haemon of assisting Antigone in her illegal
adventure. Creon even pushes his son to say that ,”Then she will die…but
her death will kill another”. Even when his son has says this, Creon
continues to argue with his son and even calls him a “woman’s slave”, one
of the worst possible insults. Creon’s lack of understanding and caring for
his son’s opinions shows that while he may think that he is doing a good
thing, he has little understanding of what is best for his son. Creon’s
concern with his own power has caused him to lose sight of what was
originally important to him – compassion and love for his only son.
Creon is not a good person; in fact, he is a stubborn, selfish ruler.
This thesis is supported by the quotes presented in this paper. If Creon
had more concern about others and less concern about maintaining his own
power, the final scenes of the play would have turned out quite
differently. The tragic conclusion of the play is a direct result of the
actions caused by Creon’s decisions.