Similarities Between Antigone And Creon

A tragic hero is an individual who makes an error, or commits an action, that eventually causes his or her own defeat, or leads to their downfall. This character evokes pity from the reader, or audience, and is typically royalty; is of high-rank. In addition, a tragic hero has a tragic flaw, or makes a fatal mistake in judgement, occasionally caused by immoderate pride, and obtains a punishment that surpasses the crime. This individual causes his or her own downfall, but most importantly, they portray the quality of tragic realization, or recognizing their tragic flaw and understanding how their actions helped cause their own obliteration. In his tragic play, Antigone, Sophocles introduces two characters that could be given the title of tragic hero, Antigone and Creon. Although many may argue Antigone is the tragic character of the play, Creon is the true tragic hero because he ideally depicts the aspects of tragic flaw and tragic realization.

To start off, in the eyes of many, Antigone is the tragic hero and portrays the qualities of a tragic character.

Her goodness is very evident, and she is indeed a good-hearted individual, as she gave her brother Polyneices a proper burial, even though it meant disobeying Creon’s proclamation. Her tragic flaw is possessing an excessive amount of stubbornness. She was determined to bury her brother, being completely aware of the consequence that would arise from her action. It is important to realize that her stubbornness and decision to bury her brother are what lead to her destruction. However, Antigone expresses tragic realization when she denies nothing as she was being accused of burying her brother and believing “[she] should have praise and honor for what [she] has done” (954). Antigone understands how she helped cause her own obliteration, as she knew her action would bring a punishment, which in this case was her death

(suicide).
On the other hand, Creon deserves the title of tragic hero, as he depicts the characteristics of a tragic character better than Antigone. Unlike Antigone, Creon’s goodness is not viewed until the end of the play, when he finally decides to free Antigone and provide an adequate burial for Polyneices. Nevertheless, this action is extremely significant as the reader never thought Creon would do this. Just like Antigone, his tragic flaw was demonstrating a tremendous amount of stubbornness. However, Creon’s flaw also involved his hubris, or excessive pride, and his main error in judgment was refusing the burial of Polyneices. Creon’s pride and stubbornness will not allow him to listen to anyone, not even Teiresias, and “whatever [Teiresias] say[s], [Creon] will not change [his] will” (972). Creon’s pride was so great, he could not bring himself to acknowledge that he could ever be mistaken, which is why he accuses the prophet of being paid off. His excessive pride/stubbornness, as well as his errors in judgement, are of great importance as they bring a devastating outcome and his downfall.
Moreover, the strongest evidence to support Creon being the tragic character of the play is his tragic realization. Even though Antigone demonstrated great pride and honor for her action, before she was taken away to her vault, she stated her fate was brought upon by Oedipus’s curse and her devotion to the Gods. Antigone does not fully possess the quality of tragic realization, as she did not completely comprehend how she helped cause her own destruction, making Creon the ideal tragic hero. Creon differs from Antigone, as he comes to the realization that he was wrong, “[he] alone [is] guilty. [He] know[s] it, and [he] say[s] it” (978). Furthermore, it may have been a little too late, but Creon understands that “a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride” (971). He comes to the comprehension that his own folly, stubbornness, and especially his pride are the cause of his massive misfortune. He is aware that he was wrong and he is the only one to blame for the unfortunate events. The audience, or reader, finally feels sympathy or pity towards Creon. It is evident to observe that Creon has changed, and he truly accepts the fact that he is the cause of his own destruction.
In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, an extremely puzzling feature is identifying who the tragic hero truly is. In order to do this, the reader has to fully comprehend the qualities, or aspects, of being a tragic character. Once the audience understands the guidelines for a tragic hero and applies them to both Antigone and Creon, it is evident to observe that there can only be one. Antigone satisfies most of the characteristics needed to receive the title of tragic character, but she fails to fully portray the quality of tragic realization. Since Creon fulfills all of the requirements, there is no doubt that he is the exemplary tragic character in the play.