Antigone
...ntigone’s act of defiance had to come at a price. Normally the punishment would automatically be death but after much persuasion from his son, Haemon, who was also engaged to Antigone, Creon decided that Antigone should be left in a cave with little food and water and her fate would be decided by the Gods. This still outraged Haemon as he believed his father should put his family first before tradition. Antigone hung herself when she was put into the cave and was discovered by Haemon shortly afterwards. Heamon attempted to kill his father as he felt Creon was to blame but then turned his sword onto himself. Once Haemon’s mother, Eurydice, discovers her son’s premature death, she too kills herself, thus, contributing to the downfall of Creon. He has nothing left as all his family have died before him. The central themes in “Antigone” are pride, the position of woman in ancient Greece and relationships. "Should the city tell me how I am to rule them?" Pride and its effects are a central part of Antigone. It is a trait despised by the gods, who bring suffering to the proud, but to the Greek mind pride is also an inextricable part of greatness. Both Antigone and Creon are incredibly proud, making it impossible for either one of them to back down once they have taken a stand. Both refuse to let anyone tell then what they should and shouldn’t do. Pride is part of what makes Antigone heroic. She refuses to let anything get in the way of what she believes is right. "If we must accept defeat, let it be from a man; we must not let people say that a woman beat us" Antigone's gender also has profound affects on the meaning of her actions. Creon himself says that the need to defeat her is all the more pressing because she is a woman. Antigone's rebellion is especially threatening because it upsets gender roles. By refusing to be passive, she overturns one the fundamental rules of her culture. There are many different relationships involved in “Antigone”. The main ones being Antigone and her brothers, Antigone and her uncle, and Creon and his son. Antigone believed that family should be put before anything else and that it is the most important thing. On the other hand Creon believed honour and tradition where more important. The thing each of them valued the most was which contributed the greatest to their downfalls. Creon and Haemon relationships is made difficult by the fact that Haemon agreed with Antigone’s actions. Creon cherishes order and loyalty above all else. He cannot bear to be defied, any more than he can bear to watch the laws of the state be defied. Haemon defends the moral grounding of Antigone's actions while warning his father that the people of Thebes sympathize with her. This outraged Creon as he feels that his people should agree with his rules, his way of thinking, and no one else’s. Also, the death of Eurydice was used as a tragic device to show the “knock-on” effect of Creon’s actions. He blamed himself for everything...