Antigone: The Tragic Hero
Antigone is a classic work that never ceases to be analyzed by critics and students around the world. The debate over who is the real tragic hero of Sophocles' play Antigone is a topic that is heavily discussed. To this day there is still no agreement. Some people believe that Antigone is the real tragic hero of this tragedy, while others believe that the hero is in fact her uncle, Creon. It is logical to say that Antigone is the tragic hero of Antigone more so than Creon because she is a likeable character, extracts pity from the audience, and her plight affects many. To begin, Creon's character is less likeable to the audience. From his very first lines in the play it is established that he believes that his royalty makes him superior to all. "No man can be fully known, in soul and spirit and mind, until he hath been seen versed in rule and law-giving"(Oates 278). He makes it clear to everyone that he has the final say in matters of the land. He makes the laws and everyone else has to abide by them. Creon thinks that if the gods give him the power make up any law he so pleases that it is obvious that it shall be followed because it is their will that he rule. In this play, the audience knows,
Another character so affected by Antigone's dilemma is Eurydice. "In Greek, the word translated as I obey actually mean I get myself persuaded". As if that was not bad enough, he finds that he has caused the suicides of the two most important people in his life, his wife and son. When he first becomes aware that she is the culprit, he tries to give her a way out. Antigone on the other hand is seen as a "do gooder". Because of the stubbornness of his father, he will no longer have the wife that he promised. Many will side with the accused because their future is doomed. Creon thinks that by freeing Antigone he will lose more. Her deeds go beyond the possibilities of normal human action, as she sets her individual conscience and her love for her dead brother above and against the power of her ruler. This, coupled with the fact that when face to face with Creon she does not deny the deed to save herself, gives her respect from the audience. She is willing to take full responsibility. see what I suffer, and from whom, because I feared to cast away the fear of Heaven!" (Oates 291). Kitto states that "The chief agent is Creon; his is the character, his the faults and merits, which are immediately relevant to the play" (Kitto 133).
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