Teiresias As A Foil To Creon

“All men make mistakes--that’s not uncommon. But when they do, they’re no longer foolish or subject to bad luck if they try to fix the evil into which they’ve fallen, once they give up their intransigence. Men who put their stubbornness on show invite accusations of stupidity.” (Lines 1139-1145) In the Greek play, Antigone, Creon is an arrogant, self-centered king who has many foils throughout the length of the play. Teiresias’ character serves as the superlative foil towards Creon’s character by highlighting his sour attitude of disrespect, showing him what he has done wrongly through their negative interactions, and by exposing his fatal flaw. Teiresias is an old, blind prophet who has never been proven wrong, so when he tells Creon what

In Scene 5, the blind prophet comes in with a boy, and tells Creon about what he has seen and knows with good intent. “Our state is sick- your policies have done this. In the city our altars and our hearths have been defiled, all of them, with rotting flesh brought here by birds and dogs from Oedipus’ son, who lies there miserably dead. The gods will no longer accept our sacrifice, our prayers, our thigh bones burned in fire.” (Lines 1128-1134) He desires to help by warning Creon about what is happening and to fix what is wrong. “I’ve been concerned for you. It’s good advice. Learning can be pleasant when a man speaks well, especially when he seeks your benefit.” (Lines 1148-1151) Yet, Creon continues within his self pity and arrogance to tell the prophet that he is wrong for his advice and conflicting motives. He in turn, criticizes the prophet because he refuses to believe his own motives are the cause. “Old man, you’re all like archers shooting at me- For you all I’ve now become your target- even prophets have been aiming at me. I’ve long been bought and sold as merchandise among that tribe. Well, go make your profits. If it’s what you want, then trade with the Sardis for their golden-silver alloy- or for gold from India, but you’ll never hide that corpse in any grave. Even if Zeus’ eagles should choose to seize his festering body and take it up, right to the

“I know that too- and it disturbs my mind. It’s dreadful to give way, but to resist and let destruction hammer down my spirit- that’s a fearful option, too.” (Lines 1224-1227) And so he tries to fix them before the prophecy comes true. “Tell me what to do. Speak up, I’ll do it,” (Line 1229) “you think I should concede?” (Line 1232) “Alas, it’s difficult. But I’ll give up. I’ll not do what I’d set my heart upon. It is not right to fight against necessity.” (Lines 1236-1238) By the time Teiresias had taken his boy and left, Creon realized his flaw and that the prophet was right, but it was too late to change his kismet. Creon had not known this yet, and began his journey to fix his wrongdoing. (Lines 1240-1245) “I’ll just go as I am. Come, you servants, each and every one of you. Come on. Bring axes with you. Go there quickly- up to the higher ground. I’ve changed my mind. Since I’m the one who tied her up, I’ll go and set her free myself.” His decision to not listen to the wise man when he was there trying to help, and his continuance to be intransigent until the last minute, led to his downfall. The interaction between these two characters helped develop the theme and plot by creating conflict, the realization for Creon of his downfall, and kept them busy while the plot moved forward behind the