Antigone

• Social relationships
• Leader ship and heroism

Conflicts and relationships between characters in Antigone

There are two basic conflicts in the play
• Between Antigone and Creon
• Between Creon and Gods

While there are two main characters(protagonists), Antigone and Creon, it is Creon who has the central figure of the play; he feature throughout the play.
Once Antigone is taken away to be imprisoned, she is not seen again.

Antigone’s opposition to Creon invites a swift and clear-cut retribution; her tragedy; Her tragedy is terrible, but for seen and very quick.

Creon’s tragedy grows before our eyes:
• The slight reserves with the chorus receives he edict concerning Polynice’s corpse (p. 132)
• The news the he had been defied (p.133) and by a women (p.137)

Conflict In Antigone

“ The conflict is between two passionately held principles of right, each partly justifiable”

Creon says he is justified by saying saying no-one can bury Polynices because he was an enemy of Thebes and therefore he should be punished “ How if I tolerate A traitor at home, shall I rule those abroad.”

Antigone thinks she is justified because the gods rules are more important/powerful than Creon’s. “ To overrule the unwritten unutterable laws of God and heaven, you being only a man” She is saying Creon is not able to overpower the gods rules. Antigone believes that the gods law is more important than Creon’s. She puts her family first “ He has no right to keep me from my own.” She says she has to spend eternity with her family therefore she must do this.

Social Relationships

Antigone: Antigone is the daughter of Jocasta who was the sister of Creon She is a strong-willed young woman who decides to bury her brother Polyneices against the edict of her uncle Creon, the new king. Following what she calls "unwritten law," Antigone buries her brother and performs the rituals of the dead. Creon, upon discovering her guilt, sentences her to die by being buried alive. When Creon goes to free Antigone from her early grave on the advice of Teiresias, he finds she's already hung herself, and his son, Haemon, her fiance, commits suicide to join her in death. Antigone is a representative of allegiance to family and tradition. By defying Creon's edict, she is showing her faith and sense of duty to her family. She personifies the belief that family and human relations should be placed above politics. Antigone’s sister is Ismene. When her sister Ismene refuses to help her bury their brother their relationship is ended. When caught, she refuses to let Ismene share the punishment.

Creon: Creon is Antigone's uncle, brother of her mother, Jocasta. He was proclaimed king after Oedipus's tragic fall from power. He has raised his sister's children as his own following her descent into madness. He was to rule Thebes until Eteocles and Polyneices could rule together as adults. After their deaths he was proclaimed king in his own right.
Holding on to power and suppressing rebellion of any kind are Creon's main objectives when he orders Polyneices to remain unburied. When notified by a sentry that someone has defied his order, he holds the sentry responsible until the culprit is caught. Creon is unbending and will not listen to the advice of his elders (the Chorus) or Teiresias, the prophet. He is an autocrat which is an absolute ruler.
Creon's refusal to obey what Antigone calls the "unwritten laws" regarding honoring the dead leads to his downfall. Creon angers the gods by sentencing Antigone to be buried alive as punishment for her betrayal of his edict. Even the pleas of his own son Haemon, Antigone's fiance, go unheard. Antigone, Haemon and Creon’s wife die as a result of Creon's refusal to listen and to compromise. He loses everything he loves, including power. He becomes a grief-stricken, broken man.

Ismene: Ismene is Antigone's sister. She loves her sister and brothers, but she refuses to help Antigone