Antigone's tragic downfall: defiance, arrogance, and individual conscience

Antigone is one of the best known tragic heroes produced by writers in Ancient Greece, as Sophocles succeeded in providing the world with a character to influence tragic plays to come. The ancient Greek's play depicts an episode in the protagonist's life as she buries her brother, in spite of the fact that she did not have the legal right to do so and eventually commits suicide because of the torment that she is subjected to.

Antigone's own doing, destiny or her hubris

It is not surprising that Antigone is determined to fight against immorality, given the fact that she herself is the product of an incestuous relationship between Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta. The character's behavior is the decisive when concerning the destiny that she has before her. By taking up arms against dishonest leadership represented through the character of Creon, her cause is obviously a just one. The woman is a hallmark for courage, as she would not accept subjecting herself to a tyrant.

Her dedication for following traditions appears to be exaggerated at times, going as far as presenting suicide as the only answer to her problems. Her tendency to die in order to protect her principles is an example of her courage and determination. It is perfectly normal for one to care for their families, but Antigone goes much further and develops a remarkable passion for everything that her family stands for. She obsessively follows the will of the gods and it is because of this that she eventually decides to take her life.

3. Antigone as a Tragic Hero and the Question of Her Downfall

Antigone's heroic features cannot be contradicted, but even with that her behavior can easily be associated with madness. She has no interest for her well being and is ready to give up life in order to please the gods. The rigidity that she displays throughout the play is detrimental for her as well as for those around her.

The Greek hero embodies courage through her behavior and is a classic example of an individual with limited power being disposed to fight a much more influential person in the name of righteousness. Antigone's social statute contributes to her becoming a tragic hero, along with the fact that she has flaws of which she is not aware, or at least which she is not willing to admit.

While her motives are nonetheless laudable, she proves to have a poor power of decision, judging certain matters on account of her biased principles. Arrogance is a key feature present in the character of Antigone, appearing that even Sophocles detested the protagonist for supporting this trait.

4. Struggle between the Law of the Individual Conscience and the Central Power of the State

As it usually happens when an individual decides to fight a much great power that leads his or her community, Antigone was doomed to fail in her mission from the very start of the play. Her just cause does not compensate for her reluctance to think logical, as it was clear that she had little to no chances of succeeding in leading a fight against Creon.

6. Evilness of Creon

Creon's behavior across the play certainly influences most individuals in the audience to despise him. However, he is not very different to Antigone, as they are both dedicated to serving their beliefs, but they are both ignorant to the harm that they provoke by doing this. It is characteristic for a leader to punish disobedience, regardless of the circumstances.

7. Does the play meet Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy?

Aristotle's concept of a tragedy involved the audience being able to distinguish between the roles of each character, until they learn who the tragic hero is. This is not an easy task when considering Antigone, with Creon and Antigone both being liable to be identified as tragic heroes. It is very possible that Aristotle appreciated the play for the tragic elements that it promoted, but it is less probable that he agreed that it is a tragedy.

8. Relevance of the play's ending

The ending of Antigone can be considered to be an example of how immoralities do not pay in the long run. Creon denies Antigone the ride to look after her family and is eventually denied the right to have a family himself. He also refuses to accept the love story between his Haemon and Antigone, only to see that his wife commits suicide and their love story ends as a result.

9. Modern Day Relevance

Antigone can be likened to a feminist in the present day, as she promotes values characteristic to influential individuals and does not see her gender as an impediment in her way to bring justice. Also, Antigone's character is comparable to a modern day hero. Mahatma Gandhi for example, made good use of civil disobedience in his fight against the British Empire and he pressed his case in spite of the fact that he was fighting a very large power.

10. Conclusion

Antigone is virtually a hallmark for the tragedy genre, even with the fact that it does not bring forward clear tragic elements. Sophocles managed to present his audiences with a well written tragic text that is likely to have today approximately the same effect that it had when it was first used in plays.