How Does Creon Show Pride In Antigone

Charles Dickens once said, “Send forth the child and childish man together, and blush for the pride that libels our own old happy state, and gives its title to an ugly and distorted image.”(Dickens) Pride is one of the largest problems that makes people fall. Pride is also one of the main topics in the play Antigone. Creon, King of Thebes, had the biggest problem with pride. Creon is the uncle to Antigone and Ismene, Antigone’s sister. Antigone is a young girl who wants to bury her brother even though Creon said not to. Pride was the path of death in Creon’s case.

First, King Creon showed pride when he found out that a traitor was buried. Creon just learned that someone had betrayed his will and he states “What? What man alive would

dare…” (Sophocles 71). Creon shows pride with this statement by assuming a man had done it. He was ready to throw whoever it was in jail. Pride is also shown in his statement “Can’t you tell? Everything you say offends me.” (Sophocles pg 74). Sentry, one of Creon's soldiers, was telling him that someone buried the body that he announced to everyone not to bury. Creon’s pride is hurt because someone disobeyed him and his decrees.
Secondly, Creon showed pride when he threw Antigone in prison, for messing with his pride he verbalized to Antigone “No?

Believe me, the stiffest stubborn wills fall the hardest; the toughest iron, tempered strong in the white-hot fire, you will see it crack and shatter first of all. And I've known spirited horses you can break with a light bit-proud and rebellious horses.” (Sophocles pg 83). Pride can be seen in the fact that he is calling Antigone prideful but he is the one that is prideful. “Her? Don't even mention her-she no longer exists. …… Absolutely: there are other fields for him to plow.” (Sophocles pg 89). Ismene, in the middle of this, questioned “What? You'd kill your sons bride?” (Sophocles pg 89). And Creon proclaimed that she deserves to die, I do not care if she is my son’s wife. He can find another one exactly like

her.
Lastly, King Creon’s pride eventually lead to the death of most of his family.

“We found her…hanged by the neck in a fine linen noose, strangled in her veils- and the boy his arms flung around her waist, clinging to her...he drew his sword….and then, doomed, desperate with himself suddenly leaning his full weight on the blade, he buried it in his body, halfway to the hilt” (Sophocles pg 122). Because of Creon's pride, he throwed Antigone into the cave to which she hanged herself, Haemon threatened Creon with a attitude of “I love her, I will kill you because you did this to her.” He missed which caused him to kill himself. When the queen found out that Haemon killed himself, she ends up killing herself as well. The messenger announces to the people, “The queen is dead. The mother of this dead boy… mother to the end- poor thing her wounds are fresh.” (Sophocles pg 124). The queen ends basically devastated, “What?” Then she went silently into her room and then killed herself. So in the end, because Creon's pride put Antigone in jail his pride payed the price for his

family.
King Creon's pride was a tremendous part of the play. All these “pride acts” ended with the death of his most of his family. The world has a lot more to offer, definitely has more to offer that just to kill yourself. The problems never will stay the same, you just have to persevere through it. But in the play, Antigone, Haemon and the queen thought that was the only way out, because of Creon, they basically felt like they were worthless. Creon really needed to get off his pedestal and realize that he is a man with a pride issue.