In Antigone, it depicts a tragedy of a royal family in Thebes which initiates with a battle between two brothers—Eteocles and Polynices. Tricked by his brother, Polynices intends to take the throne back by force as the promise was made that each of them will take the authority in alternate years. Yet, at last, they killed each other in the combat like what their father Oedipus cursed before his death. This benefits Creon, uncle of Antigone, to take over the authority of government and become the new king of Thebes. Insisting his own justice and rules, he forbids a proper burial for the traitor (to the country) Ploynices. This event triggers the conflict between Antigone and Creon on arguing whether Ploynices should be properly buried. Symbolically in this play, on one hand Antigone represents the love for the family (especially brother) and the piety to the “Nether God”: “Far longer is there need I satisfy/ those nether Powers, than powers on earth” (3, Sophocles); and on the other, Creon stands for ego, laws and human powers: “Not even for horror at such sacrilege/ Will I permit his burial” (39, Sophocles). It is obvious to observe the nature of the conflict (human power versus god power), but it is still unclear to state the master narrative of this book. Since there is a hierarchy of truth within every book, the highest truth will be revealed if we can grasp what the author is truly presenting. Then the question should be asked: who is the “one” and “other” in this play, and what is the fundamental reason that raises the inevitability of this tragedy? In my opinion, I think that Creon’s egoism and impiety generates the inevitability of the tragedy for two reasons: 1. Both Antigone and Creon have conducted righteousness to an individual extent yet Antigone is favored by the god and seer; 2. Creon’s inability to compromise exposes his extreme egoism and irreverence to gods. Thus, in this play, Antigone is the one and Creon is the other.
In order to verify that the deeds of Antigone and Creon are conducted with righteousness, we need first re-examine and analyze their characteristics. For Antigone, I think her righteousness manifested in three aspects: the representation of firm piety, the decisive love for brother and the courage to go against the human power. We can regard that the decisive love for her brother as the cause of this tragedy, yet this love is with good intention and sympathetic. To some extent, this love has become the mixed source of Antigone’s determination and courage; and the rest is her piety toward gods. When Antigone makes the decision to bury her brother, she tries to ask Ismene for favor. Fretted, Ismene is too cowardly to insist what is right and pious. She tries to convince Antigone of their natural inferiority (woman born) and disobedience to the human power (Creon) will lead to their fatal destruction (3, Sophocles). However, by contrast, Antigone has far more determination and courage: “Him will I bury. Death, so met, were honour; / and for that capital crime of piety, / Loving and loved, I will lie by his side” (3, Sophocles). Furthermore, Antigone’s piety not only enforces her bravery but also rationalizes her intention of burying her brother when she is confronted with Creon, the symbol for law and authority. Antigone thinks that the burial of the dead is the “the rite due to the underworld” and should not be interfered by the man-made law (or authority) by saying that “Because it was not Zeus who ordered it, / Nor Justice, dweller with the Nether Gods, / Gave such a law to men” (17, Sophocles). In this light, she objects the insistence of Creon’s rotten law to forbid her brother burial and claims that Creon’s deeds are factually against the will of Gods. Here, it is shown that what Antigone has done is with righteousness and piety. Then can we say Creon is unjust and thus label him as an evildoer who receives the punishment of losing his family?
The answer is obviously no. In my perception, Creon also conducts his deeds with righteousness for two reasons: he has responsibility to maintain the order of the nation and his justice is covered with decency, honor and respect to the gods. For Creon, Eteocles is the one who died for defending the nation and considers him as “the foremost of our champions in the fray” (8, Sophocles). However, Ploynices is the one who has been exiled by Eteocles and he is the one who brings the battle fire to the nation. So for both reasons, we could not perceive anything wrong for Creon to forbid the burial of Ploynices. More importantly, Creon’s value is fixed as that “but whoe’er / Is friendly to this city shall, by me, / Living or dead, be honored equally” (9, Sophocles). In this token, indeed Polynices is a traitor to the country and has not been “friendly” to the city even though his brother tricked him in the first place. Reasonably, Creon shows no bad or evil intention to forbid the burial at this point. Further, after hearing the news of Antigone’s rebellion, Creon thinks he must take a step to stop her, otherwise the moral of this whole city will be corrupted:”this made plain to men / Habits of all misdoing, and cognizance / Of every work of wickedness” (12, Sophocles). In this case, Creon shows the sense of responsibility towards the city more than he has considered for himself. And it is indeed understandable that after a militarily coop, the nation must be stabilized by reinforcing the laws. We can now say that Creon is not the evildoer. His deeds reflect the duty of maintaining the order of the city which should be somehow praised. Also, when comparing the burial of a traitor to the order of a whole nation, the latter one should be undoubtedly valued. It is showed that both of them have conducted righteousness in different ways. But why the tragedy is still inevitable and why is Creon still punished at the end?
As mentioned previously, the main cause of the tragedy is Antigone’s love for his brother. But is it not the true inevitability of the tragedy. In order to have a better understanding of the master narrative of this story, another character, Tiresias should be introduced. Before Antigone’s death, Tiresias appears to Creon as a seer and coordinator who carries the will of gods and tries to reconcile the severity of the conflict. Tiresias thinks that the prohibition of burying Ploynices has defiled the altars and thus “the Gods accept not of us now” (38, Sophocles). And suggests Creon that it is common for mankind to make mistakes but the stubbornness of insisting the mistakes is the exact foolishness. Yet the persuasion has failed, as Creon takes his personal egoism into account and emotionally shows irreverence to gods: “Not even for horror at such sacrilege/ Will I permit his burial” (39, Sophocles). From this point after, even though Creon wants to regret, the misfortune on him is already unstoppable.
In conclusion, we have shown that both Creon and Antigone have conducted righteousness to an individual extent. But the true inevitability of the tragedy is factually caused by Creon’s inability to compromise, extreme egoism and irreverence to gods. There is another incidence at the very end of the book: “Heaven’s insistence / Nothing allows of man’s irreverence” (52, Sophocles) which reveals the master narrative of this story. Anything go against the will of gods will be severely punished even without bad intention. Therefore, we have to admit that if on one hand Antigone stands for the piety and Creon represents the human power on the other, then Antigone is unquestionably the “one” and Creon is the “other”.
