Pride In Sophocles Antigone

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Often, people must choose between what they believe to be right, and what the authority in a society has deemed to be correct. Such is the case in Antigone, by Sophocles. In the Greek tragedy, Sophocles tells the story of a woman who has chosen to bury her brother, a man who led an attack against his own city. It was decreed by her uncle, King Creon, that her brother should not be buried because he went against his own country. In the end, this choice leads to her downfall.Some may argue that the main theme of Antigone is determination,however this theme only shows up with Antigone when she refuses to listen to Ismene and goes off to bury her brother.On the other hand, the underlying themes of Antigone are ones people can still relate to their …show more content…

In other words, when Creon creates a law believing it is his divine will (Sophocles, 1027), that is the ultimate display of punishable pride, especially in his position of power. As a result of his pride, when the prophet Tiresias comes to warn Creon of his suffering that is to come, Creon realizes the mistake he has made, but still does not admit it. He does not give into Tiresias’ message because he has gone too far. Creon does it solely to preserve his own life, and for that he suffers the loss of his …show more content…

She puts her life on the line by committing actions against the human laws put in place by Creon. (Sophocles, 1023) Antigone knew full well the extent of the law. Her actions were done out of her devotion for the principles of the gods. This enraged Creon because he saw it as an act of disobedience to the law he set seeing it as a divine action. When in reality that was not Antigone’s intention, she was only doing what she saw as morally fit.
Antigone's gender has profound effects on the meaning of her actions, Creon himself says that the need to defeat her is more pressing because she is a woman. Her rebellion was especially threatening because it upset the gender roles that were set up during that time period. Ismene is Antigone’s foil in a way because of her subordinance to men. She says since they are stronger men must be obeyed.(Sophocles, 1023) However, even when Creon realizes he may be wrong, he argues that even if he were incorrect, he could not admit defeat to a woman, for it would upset divine

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