When Creon found out that Antigone buried Polynices, his first intention was to give her the death penalty. Then, he decided that he was going to put her in a cave, even though what she did was just a way to protect her brother. He agreed to give her a sufficient amount of food and necessities, but she would be confined to the cave forever. Before he could carry out his action, tragedy occurred.
Antigone was so upset with everything that had happened, and how Creon wouldn’t let her do something for the good will of her brother and her family. She was so angry and upset that she killed herself. Antigone chose a quick death instead of a slow painful death, alone in a cave. Antigone said that she would have to die eventually anyways, so why shouldn’t she die right then for a good cause. In her opinion, she did die for a good cause. She died for her brother who was not going to receive a burial from Creon. At this point, Ismene is upset that she didn’t help Antigone bury Polynices. Ismene tried to tell Creon that she helped Antigone, but that was a lie, and Creon saw right through her and didn’t believe her. Now, Ismene feels like it was her fault that Antigone killed herself, but that is not true. Antigone killed herself so she wouldn’t have to spend the rest of her life restrained in a cave.
When Haemon found out what Antigone had done, he began to feel bad, and he was upset. He was going to marry Antigone, so when he saw her dead, he was distraught. Haemon decided that the easiest way out was to kill himself, and he did just that. He thought that there was no reason to live, because now that Antigone was dead, he didn’t have a reason to live either.
When Eurydice finds out that Haemon and Antigone killed themselves, she became very depressed, just as Haemon had. So, she killed herself for the same reason that the other two did; to take the easy way out.
At this point, Creon feels absolutely horrible that he has caused this series of unfortunate events. He feels bad for Antigone’s death, and his own son, Haemon’s death, and Eurydice’s death. Creon realizes that if he had simply given Polynices a burial, none of this would have happened and everyone would be happy. He waited too long, and he was the cause of the destruction of three lives.
Antigone was considered the tragic hero because she extremely unlike other women of her time. Almost all women behaved like Ismene. They were very proper and went along with whatever the king said. They would never argue with anyone, especially a man. Antigone was just the opposite. She stood up for what she believed in, and in some cases this would be a good thing, but in this case it was not. Maybe if Antigone had not worried about her brother’s rights, she wouldn’t have been in this situation. But she made the decision that she thought was right, and she died for a cause that she thought was worthy.
Both Creon and Antigone were tragic heroes because they made a mistake. It just so happens that Creon’s mistake caused three deaths, while Antigone’s mistake just caused Creon’s anger. They were both considered tragic heroes, but they were tragic in different ways.
