In the story of Antigone, great tragedy befalls a number of
characters. Antigone, driven by her honor and love for her brother, broke the
king’s laws and buried her brother in the name of the gods. In doing so, she
sentenced herself to death. Creon, the man who invoked the laws and the
sentence on Antigone, experiences his own tragedy as well. In sentencing
Antigone and being staunch in his beliefs, he set into motion a series of
events that would take the lives of his son and his wife. For this reason, I believe
that Creon is the tragic hero in this story.
Much like the tragic hero,
Oedipus, Creon is a man who is responsible for the pain that befalls on him.
These men believe so strongly in their actions and in their search for justice
that they are blind to the effects these actions may have. In Creon’s case, his
decision to not waver from his conviction of Antigone led to her death. Her
death then resulted in the grief-stricken suicide of his son, Haemon.
Similarly, the death of his son led to the grief stricken suicide of his wife,
Eurydice. What makes Creon a tragic hero is that he realizes his mistakes, but
only too late. After he finds his dead son, he proclaims: “…vain shadow that I am,
who slew thee, o my son, unwittingly, and thee too…” We see in this quote that
Creon truly realize that his actions alone resulted in the death of his loved
ones.
