Antigone And Kreon Character Analysis

In Antigone, Sophocles illustrates two characters, Antigone and Kreon, whose morals clash throughout the play, leading to their inevitable fate. Although Kreon qualifies himself to become a leader of a city which grieves from the attacks of Polyneices, Antigone’s actions elicit more admirable qualities, because they stretch beyond the unthinkable and challenge the idea of authority. While Kreon tries to become a good leader, Antigone also becomes a leader in a sense, much like her father Oedipus, however one that believes the rules of the gods overpower the rules of the land in every situation.
Arguably, Antigone’s strong moral character, consistent actions, and difficulty of becoming intimidated resemble qualities like those of her father’s,
When Antigone asked her sister Ismene to help bury their brother, Ismene denies, saying that she “shall obey to those who are in authority (Sophocles line 67).” However, Ismene changes her mind later on and wants to share the punishment with Antigone for keeping her plot a secret. Ismene admits, “I share in bearing the responsibility (Sophocles 537).” Antigone’s courage inspires Ismene to join her, even though she wants Ismene to stay away, which shows that Antigone is a credible leader. Ismene, not Antigone, was then in control of her own
He concluded in one of his arguments, “there is no greater evil than unruliness. It ruins cities and makes households desolate (Sophocles lines 672-673).” Kreon refused to let the city become destroyed by its citizens again, hence the reason behind his edict. Unfortunately for him, the edict did not work. By enforcing the edict, Kreon risked the lives of not only Antigone, but Haimon and Eurydike as well. Because Kreon delayed Antigone’s punishment, he lost the respect of his family as well as the citizens of Thebes. By the end of the play, he leaves the blame only to himself, and realizes “nowhere can [he] lean for support (Sophocles line 1343).”
The main difference between Antigone and Kreon – and the main reason Antigone should be considered more admirable than Kreon – is that Antigone is a person of her word. Although her actions throughout the play put others’ lives at risk, she did what she believed was right, not by the land, but by the divine gods. Both Antigone and Kreon could be considered stubborn. However, it is ultimately Kreon’s stubbornness that led to his downfall as a ruler, when he was expected to succeed by