Antigone's downfall is the result of her own doing. She refuses to listen to Creon because she is Polynesis' brother and wants him to be buried and suffers the consequences of disobeying the king. Antigone's death is not deserved for the crime she did. Creon sentenced her to death because he was threatened for his thrown. The readers are saddened because Antigone should not have died and she should be the queen of the kingdom instead of Creon.
In his play Antigone, Sophocles tells about the actions of Antigone, a princess, who disobeys the civil law in the city of Thebes in order to provide a proper burial for her deceased brother, Polyneices. For this, she is sentenced to death by Creon, her uncle and king of the land. Creon believes that Polyneices did not deserve a proper burial due to the fact he turned on his city and therefore punishes Antigone for her actions. Creon and Antigone both face severe consequences regarding the law they follow, however Antigone is focused on life after death while Creon focuses only on his needs and wants. The main conflict arises when Antigone decides to go against civil law and bury her deceased brother.
By accepting the obligation to bury Polyneices, Antigone acts as if she has no choice. “It is a law carried out by a sister for a brother.” (Jacobs 893)" " " " Devotion to family is also shown through Eurydice’s love for her sons and Haimon’s love for her fiance. Eurydice puts a knife through her chest after her second son is killed, “And a great cry burst from her lips for Megareus dead, and for Haimon dead, her sons; and her last breath was a curse for their father, the murderer of her sons.” (SCENE V 114-116). It clearly shows her love and devotion to her family because she does not want to be alive without them. Eurydice values (blood) family over strict society laws.
She will be the man here” (519). This quote explains Kreon’s irritation on Antigone. The very moment Antigone buries her be loving brother’s body Kreon wants to take action with killing her because she disobeyed his law also Antigone’s sister, Ismene, because Kreon believes she was part of it too. Kreon believes if he does not kill Antigone he will no longer be one of the best rulers that people will look up too. This quote is important because it explains how Kreon begins to commit hubris.
Antigone’s tragic flaw is that she is too passionate and strong-willed for her own good. She insists on burying her brother, Polyneices, even when the king forbade it. When asked why she ignored his demand Antigone replied, “I dared. It was not God’s proclamation” (783, 64-65). Antigone is telling Creon that rather than listen to his man made laws that she would rather follow the higher authority of the God’s.
Her stubbornness of course, is what forces Antigone to rashly take matters in to her own hands, and take the body of Polyneices. She did not realize until she was about to die, that she had possibly acted foolishly. Antigone shared her flaw with Creon, who seemed to have an even more obstinate personality. Her downfall began with her proud soul and neglecting the King’s law. She goes against Creon to stay true to herself and her own family, and by that decision, her fate was sealed.
When she confronted her sister, Ismene, to ask for her help in burying Polyneices, Ismene's fear was clear. Ismene would not go against the King of Thebes' laws even for her own blood, she tells Antigone that she is killing herself by even having such a thought, "Our own death
Antigone tries to explain why she had the right to bury her brother. She is justified in disobeying the law because everyone deserves to have a proper burial. Antigone is not afraid to face the outcome of her actions even if it calls for death because “This death of mine is of no importance…”(208). If leaving her brother Polyneices unburied, she “should have suffered”(208). Antigone achieves her plan and did not let anyone stop her from doing what she thought was right.
Creon refuses to dispose of Polynices’ properly. Antigone believes strongly in the afterlife that she does what she thinks is right. When Creon finds out that his niece has buried her brother he is infuriated. She thinks that people need to respect the dead, and since she sees no one acknowledging this she considers herself dead because she did what no other person thought of doing. Antigone knows that Creon knows what she has done and states, “I gave myself to death, long ago, so I might serve the dead.” Her brother not being buried changes the relationship she has with her uncle because her uncle now wants her to suffer and to e tormented for something she thought was right.
Euripides has been accused of being a misogynist as well as the world's first feminist. In your view, do the portrayals of Medea and Jason allow such contradictory interpretations? Euripides' Greek tragic play, 'Medea', depicts a wife's desire to right the wrongs done to her by her husband and in the pursuit of satisfaction, she commits the heinous of crimes, infanticide. The play is set in a patriarchal society, where women are treated as mere tools to satisfy their male partners. Euripides' portrays Medea as both a weak and strong woman, being able to stand up to some of the male characters and simultaneously succumb to their presence.