How Does Antigone Cause Creon's Downfall

From the beginning of the play until her unfortunate death, Antigone is shown as a very determined young woman. In Ancient Greek culture, women were not expected to be as powerful as men. Antigone breaks that stereotype, however, and it makes Creon paranoid and he is in disbelief that a woman could defy his power. Therefore, the fact that Antigone is a determined and powerful woman makes Creon paranoid and ultimately causes his downfall. To start with, Antigone’s femininity is something that surprises Creon. During the period that Antigone was written in, women were treated of lower class than men. Creon does not expect a woman to defy a man in power, as this has never happened in his time before. Women are expected to bow down to men. Ismene is shown to follow this rule. She is an example of a stereotypical women in Ancient Greek times, as shown when she says “We are only women, / We cannot fight with men, Antigone! / The law is strong, we must give in to the law / In this thing, and in worse. I beg the Dead / To forgive me, but I am
helpless: I must yield / To those in authority” (Sophocles, Prologue.46-51). This quote is an example of how Ismene thinks women are of lower class and cannot stand against men. Ismene is Antigone’s foil, because Antigone way of thinking is the opposite of Ismene’s. Antigone is not afraid to stand up to people in authority unlike Ismene. Creon expects women to behave like Ismene, but Antigone does not follow this stereotype, which would cause a man like Creon to become fearful of being brought down by a woman. Secondly, Antigone and Haimon’s relationship could possibly affect Creon’s perspective on the situation. Since Antigone is his son’s fiancée, it is reasonable to think Creon would change his mind about sending Antigone to her death, but it does not change Creon’s decision. Creon doesn’t take into consideration his son’s feelings and how Creon is going to kill the woman that his son loves. He just thinks that killing Antigone will make him look more responsible and will cause the people to think that he is a good king for punishing the woman who buried a traitor. Creon tells Haimon “So you are right / Not to lose your head over this woman. / Your pleasure with her would soon grow cold, Haimon, / And then you’d have a hellcat in bed and elsewhere” (Sophocles, 3.512-515). Creon is telling Haimon that he should get over Antigone, because eventually he would lose feelings for her and he should not give in to love. Creon’s excuse for sending Antigone to her death is that Haimon would soon forget Antigone and eventually she would become a burden. This is an example of Creon putting his pride and reputation over his son’s opinion on the situation and his feelings for Antigone. Furthermore, another reason Antigone could be a threat to Creon is because she is mentally and emotionally more powerful than him.
When put in a difficult situation, Antigone is shown to keep her composure, while Creon panics and does not stay calm in an argument. Creon and Antigone have an argument after she is discovered burying Polyneices. Antigone stays calm during the situation, while Creon slowly starts to lose his temper. Creon ends the argument when he says “Go join them, then; if you must have your love, / Find it in hell!” (Sophocles, 2.419-420). This is an example of how Creon can easily lose his patience and doesn’t know how to intelligently handle an argument. Although Antigone is a teenage girl, she is more emotionally stable than an adult male. This proves to be Antigone’s advantage when arguing with Creon, and he eventually loses his sanity completely by the end of the play, after losing everyone that he
loves. In conclusion, Antigone is shown to be a major threat to Creon and could ruin his reputation. Women have never stood up to men in power before, and when Antigone does that for the first time, Creon realizes what women are capable of. Antigone is a powerful and persistent young woman who will stop at nothing to bury her brother, which makes a man like Creon paranoid and a threat to his reign of power.