Sunday, December 14, 2014

At the end of Antigone, who deserves more sympathy, Antigone or Creon?

The question as to who deserves more sympathy all depends upon the reader. There is no right or wrong answer. In the eyes of the gods, Antigone deserves more sympathy due to her piety and love, but Creon is not without sympathy either, even though there is no question as to the injustice of his actions.
Antigone is a heroic character whose nobility, love for her family, and respect for the gods gets her into trouble. She dies for what she believes in. However, some have argued that Antigone might be a bit too stubborn for her own good. Even though she completes the burial undetected earlier, she returns for a second rite and this second time she is caught and arrested.
Critics and audiences have been unable to determine why Antigone returns to the graves; however, there are a variety of theories, anywhere from the gods did it the first time to Antigone forgetting a part of the ritual. Some have argued Antigone returns when she sees part of the grave is uncovered, not because this endangers her brother's soul according to religious tradition (and it doesn't) but because she is stubborn to a fault. This could make her seem more hardheaded.
Creon is tyrannical throughout the play and creates his own problems in the end. When his entire life ends up in ruins, one's sympathy for him but be twinged with a sense of "he had it coming." However, some might argue he too is tragic, since his hamartia is what causes him to make all those bad decisions in the first place.
Some might argue both he and Antigone were trying to do what they believed best given the circumstances. Creon wanted to retain civil order after a destructive conflict, no matter how cruel his measures, and Antigone believed in obeying the dictates of the gods and loving her brothers in spite of everything.


Naturally, most people's sympathy would be with Antigone. She was the one who ultimately did the right thing by honoring her brother and, by extension, the gods. She is the play's tragic heroine, after all. And like all tragic heroes or heroines, she's brought to grief by forces beyond her control.
For much of the play, it's hard to have any kind of sympathy for Creon. He's stubborn, arrogant, pig-headed, and heartless. He's so full of overweening pride that he can't see the damage he's doing to his city, his family, and his relationship with the gods. Yet by the end of the play his whole life is in ruins. His son and wife have both killed themselves because of him, and his belated decision to relent and allow Polynices's body to be finally buried is too little, too late and shows a complete lack of judgement.
On a personal level, it's difficult not to feel a slight twinge of sympathy for Creon as he cradles the bleeding corpse of Haemon in his arms. Yet at the same time, we must also bear in mind that Creon, unlike Antigone, is entirely the architect of his own downfall. From the perspective of both the gods and the audience, Creon got what was coming to him.

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