Antigone Tragic Hero Quotes

In Sophocles' Antigone, the question of who the tragic hero really is, has been a subject of debate for a great number years. The story is about a young woman who has buried her brother by breaking king’s decree, and now she is punished for obeying the gods’ law. There are many arguments as to who is the tragic hero in Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone is a tragic hero because she is highborn, irrational and evokes feelings of pity in the reader as she stands up to an impossible enemy, which are all characteristics of a tragic hero.

Similar to other tragic heroes, Antigone is highborn, and her tragic flaw remains that she is rash. The chorus even says “No man is so foolish to lust for death”(Sophocles 223), this is clearly referring to her irrationality when defying the king’s law. Antigone’s pride and rashness in this situation is one of the main causes of her self- inflicted death. This

quote is also a symbol of foreshadowing telling the reader that Antigone will die due to the fact that she disobeyed the king's decree. In a conversation with Antigone’s sister Ismene, Antigone says “ Oh denounce it! I will hate you the more if you don't tell these things to everyone” (Sophocles 87-88). In the simplest Antigone is telling her sister that she wants everyone to know what she has done. This stubbornness is a display of her pride and recklessness in the text. In addition, she says this because she believes that what she is doing is the right thing, and that against the law or not she is wanting to defy fate and Creon’s decree.
Another characteristic of a tragic hero she displays is that, she evokes feelings of pity as well since her family remains under a curse, causing a cycle of self-inflicted death or downfall.

This characteristic is also seen in Oedipus, her father when he says “Sick as you are, not one of you is as sick as I” (Sophocles 1222). This quote taken from Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This is evidence of the curse so blatantly placed on their family beginning with Oedipus. Antigone is fabled to suffer a similar fate to that of her father which continues to evoke those feelings of pity, as you know her death is rapidly approaching. she hoped her death in the name of good will would end this curse for her family, however after her death Creon and Haemon both kill themselves. The oracle Tiresias says “Here still unaware that he is the killer, he curses himself” (Sophocles 249) At the beginning of the curse in Oedipus’ family is foreshadowing for all the books to follow. Sophocles may have not meant for it to be like this however he set himself up to continue to write plays in this story

line.
Her quality of standing up to an impossible enemy of Creon, the gods and fate. This pride is a key reason she is considered a tragic hero. “You should not start an impossible quest.” (Sophocles 93). This quote is a way for the author to display that her impending journey is against enemies that cannot be defeated. Her pride can also be seen through this line, as it shows even though she was warned that her trials would be unsurmountable she is prideful and pigheaded by attempting to complete this quest. “O seer, how correct your prophecy turned out” (Sophocles 1185). This quote was a symbol of Antigone’s unfeasible fight. The seer similar to in Oedipus was ordinarily correct and when the prophecy was introduced it seemed almost inevitable. She understood that her deeds would cause her downfall as she was facing great forces but due to her hubris she completed her quest.
Antigone the main character in this story shows characteristics of a genuine tragic hero. She shows that she is brave by standing up to an impossible force. However it is easily shown that this bravery is really stubbornness, by following a path that was against the king’s edict which was known to be punishable by death. However, as fate had it Antigone died by her own hand when her pride and recklessness got the best of her.