Arguably it is Creon, not Antigone, who is the truly tragic character of Sophocles’ play Antigone. A tragic flaw, or in the Ancient Greek the concept of hamartia, is an individual characteristic that leads to one’s downfall. However, it seems that Antigone is not flawed, but rather radically ethical. Antigone’s decision does lead to her death, but in one sense she fundamentally understands that her death is the result of her own ethical decision to follow a concept of ethical justice that is timeless. For this same reason it is therefore Creon who possesses a tragic flaw in the story: the failure to see beyond his own power, seeing his own pride as a ruler as the defining feature of his life.
Creon’s belief in the legitimacy of his own power and authority thus condemns him to a tragic fate. Creon is the ruler of Thebes, a result of a civil war conflict between two brothers Eteocles and Polynices. The two were killed in battle and Creon, now ruler, decides that it is Polynices who is guilty for the turmoils. Thus, he makes a decision which has a deep ethical, spiritual and symbolic significance for the Theban culture: Creon orders that the body of Polynices is not to be buried, but is instead left to rot as a result of his crimes. This sparks his conflict with Antigone who wishes to bury Polynices who is her brother. Antigone essentially believes that there is an eternal moral principle which must be followed, above the commands of a king or ruler, these are laws which are “not just for today or yesterday, but exist forever.” (Sophocles, 514-515) Creon, in contrast, believes that as king what he decides is the truth and the just. He believes in his own power to define the moral landscape, just because he has acquired a position of political power.
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As a result of his tragic flaw, Creon thus faces the devastating fate that his son Haemon commits suicide. Haemon had been engaged to be married with Antigone. However, Creon has sentenced Antigone to death because of her burial of Polynices, which she has illegally performed. Creon decides to go through with the execution of Antigone, locking her in a cave. Yet, after a conversation with the gods, Creon realizes his flaw and decides to bury Polynices and liberate Antigone. But Antigone has already taken her own life. This leaves Haemon enraged at Creon, as he feels Creon has become a tyrant: “A city which belongs to just one man is no true city.” (Sophocles, 838-839) The son’s initial instinct is to kill the father in revenge for the loss of his beloved. Haemon attempts this, but then in a fundamental sense realizes that a much more cruel revenge on his father is to commit suicide so as to show him the error of his ways.
Creon demonstrates a crucial self-awareness of his mistakes. He understands that these mistakes are irreversible. Upon the death of his son, he is utterly devastated, wishing for his own death and understanding that it is purely his own individual decision and the belief in the validity of his choices from his excessive hubris which have caused the entire sequence of tragic events. Thus, Creon declares at the very ending of the play, in a clear recognition of his errors: “Everything I touch goes wrong, and on my head/fate climbs up with an overwhelming load.” (Sophocles, 1489-1490) This is a radical reversal from his position of self-confidence. Creon now recognizes that he has ended the lives of those closest to him and that his own life is essentially ruined.
Creon satisfies the requirements of the concept of the tragic flaw. He firstly believes in his own status as ruler, the legitimacy of his word over all others. This is a clear case of hubris. Following the definition of the tragic flaw, this trait leads to the devastation of his life. His son having taken his own life, Creon is left to understand that he is the cause of the tragedy around him, his hubris having led directly to the death of some of the most important individuals in his life.
- Sophocles. Antigone. Retrieved June 29, 2017 at http://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/sophocles/antigonehtml.html
