Creon Antigone Analysis

After Creon lost both of his nephews he made a decree banning the burial of one of them. After his niece buried her brother, Creon was in a difficult position in which he had to decide if he was going to continue to be consistent with his law and punish his niece, or to go against his morals and change his decree. Creon desires to be a sovereign king, therefore, he chooses to punish his niece after she broke the law by going against the decree he made. Sophocles portrays Antigone as the protagonist, and Creon as the protagonist, but after a closer look, it becomes evident that Creon was trying to run his kingdom in a way that his subjects would respect him, rather than in a way that favours his family members.
When Creon first made the law banning the burial of his nephew Polyneices, he had good intentions to maintain his position as the king, “I claim and hold the throne and
He asks her more than one if she broke the law, and if she knew that she was breaking the law by doing so (138). Each time Antigone says that she is guilty and that she knew it was against the law. Creon gave her a chance to lie and say that it was not her but she does not deny her actions. This means that Creon must punish her for her actions. Instead of the original punishment, which was death, Creon order Antigone to be placed in a cave. He says, “Leave her alone at liberty to die, or, if she choose, to live in solitude, the tomb her dwelling” (152). This is extremely merciful for Creon to do. Instead of automatically giving her the death penalty, he has given her an opportunity to continue living. If Creon was the cold, heartless, antagonist that many people try to label him as then he would have hung Antigone on a cross rather than isolating her from the rest of the people. He had to punish her somehow, because she was guilty; therefore, he punished her as lovingly as he