Antigone Creon Quotes

In the play it was expected that sons would respect and honor their fathers by following their wishes. Creon implies this when he rhetorically asks Haemon why men want sons and states, “It’s so the boy will punish his father’s enemies/And reward his friends-- as his father would” (643-644). This shows that it was expected of sons to follow closely in their father’s footsteps. Creon reminds Haemon of this because of his differing opinion on Antigone. Creon believes women are inferior to men and are mostly for pleasure, which is why he demands that Haemon find a new bride and admit Antigone deserves death for disobeying him.

Creon addresses Antigone’s prayer to Zeus when he declares, “Who cares if she calls out “Zeus!”/And calls him her protector? I must keep my kin in line” (658-659). This statement reveals that Creon is not reverent to Zeus, despite his claims. Creon values retaining and proving his own power over showing respect to the gods, otherwise he would consider that the gods might actually side with Antigone and wish for her to survive due to her bravery. Instead, he sees her as a threat to his power and plans to execute her.

Creon’s argument is effective to an extent because if everyone did everything as they

He then proceeds to say that while he agrees with him, he ought to share the views of the city, which he eagerly defends. In his argument he speaks for the city of Thebes, claiming that Antigone’s fate is extremely unfair and everyone is anguished over it. He encourages his father to show her some mercy by using a lifeboat metaphor, speaking of the sailor of the lifeboat. He claims, “It’s the same in a boat: if the sailor keeps the footline taut,/If he doesn’t give an inch, he’ll capsize” (715-716). This implies that Haemon believes their government cannot survive without showing leniency during challenging