In the following pages, we are introduced to Creon, Antigone’s uncle, he is portrayed as a strict leader, a manipulative man and this creates a strong contrast between him and Antigone. The king feels she is defying him and he has the power over whether she lives or dies, and the law is only here to benefit him and to control the people. It emphasizes her lack of power and the divergent way in which they deal with laws. Sophocles turns us towards Antigone again since she follows her own conscience and wants to honour her family whereas Creon chooses to follow state laws. Furthermore, Antigone has to act on her own to bury Polyneice’s body since Ismene chooses to do nothing, it shows she is the character with the most agency and courage and makes us feel admiration for her. The fact that she has obligations as a woman and a duty towards her family represents her as a martyr and this creates empathy again for her character.
As we go on with our reading we discover Antigone’s deep suffering and sorrow, she suffers because she has no power, is dominated by the status of Creon and is alone in her struggle. She has lost her two brothers, has no family except for Ismene, and is now condemned to die by Creon. In addition, the fact that she has a fiancé but is not married to him adds to her solitude, and makes us feel compassion for her.
As said before, when the play was written women had a very little role in a society ruled by men, and they had very limited freedom. Antigone, on the other hand, is the complete opposite to this stereotype and upsets these gender roles. She is a “spokesman” for feminism, an icon for woman flowering and totally defies the rules of the society she lived in. She eventually becomes a
source of inspiration for generations of rebels and dissidents. It makes her stand out again; her courage is admirable when she refuses to deny the deed she has committed in front of Creon and the reader cannot neglect these qualities. This emphasizes Antigone’s agency and makes us reader esteem her and feel consideration in her conflict against Creon.
One important and decisive part of the play is the role of the gods and more importantly the Chorus of Theban elders. They comment of the action and interact with Creon advising him and judging his actions, they also comment critically on his action. One other essential thing to note is that at that time the power of Gods was above everyone and their decision final and inflexible. Thus, when Creon chose to ignore the Chorus’ advice and condemn Antigone he brings ruin on himself. Besides, the Gods as well are on Antigone’s side and support her against Creon. For the reader it implies that even moral and divine laws advocate Antigone, thereby she is forgivable, and the King is an obstinate tyrant. This again adds to her status of victim and makes us feel strong resentment towards Creon and pity for the protagonist. The chorus also persuades the audience that will feel compassion for Antigone who is by then illustrated a tragic hero since she is condemned to die.
One other chief theme of the play is Family versus State law. Antigone invokes divine laws as defence of her actions but discerns them with the powers of her individual conscience. She scarifies her life out of devotion to principles higher than human law. One can wonder which laws are more important, but in Antigone’s case, it is clearly family laws since she chooses to die instead of obeying state laws. It highlights her unique personality and the fact that she is individualist. Creon has indeed been punished for not understanding the fine line between these two. Again, we are more attracted to her side since we can more relate to her and her choice which is somehow selfish but heroic and unfortunately fatal.
Thus, in this play, Sophocles attributing the role of both protagonist tragic hero creates sympathy for his main character Antigone. Creon flaws are even more stressed and Antigone’s bravery admirable. The contrast between them makes Antigone’s human qualities stand out. The audience cannot but feel sympathy for her and despite her death, she somehow “triumphs” since she takes away with her Creon’s son Heamon and Eurydice and Creon ends up alone as a tyrannical leader.