I am not a villain nor am I an unreasonable
man. I did not deny my nephew a proper burial; I denied a traitor a proper
burial. Polynices betrayed me. He betrayed his city. Above all he betrayed the
gods who, in their divine power, appointed me ruler of Thebes. Is that the sort
of man who deserves to be honored and publicly lamented? I made my position on
the matter clear from the beginning of this disaster. I plainly stated that
Polynices "came back from exile to burn and destroy his fatherland and the
gods of his fatherland, to drink the blood of his kin, to make them slaves- he
is to have no grave, no burial, no mourning from anyone; it is forbidden"
(131).
Antigone initiated this ill-fated feud. She
could have mourned her treacherous sibling in silence, but instead insisted
upon defying my decree and sending the city of Thebes into a spiral of discord
and dissension. Wretched Oedipus and his cursed offspring brought this tragedy
upon my household. It was Antigone's
stubborn refusal to submit to my authority and subsequent criminal activity
that are to blame.
I had already issued the edict when I
learned of Antigone's defiance. Was I to retract my own mandate and be made
foolish by a woman? "[I'll] have no woman's law here, while I live"
(140). Thebes had just resolved a gruesome conflict, I could not back down on
the first law I'd made since victory. My people needed a strong and steadfast
ruler to lead them out of strife. And I provided them with one. An unreliable
leader can be dangerous in a time of crisis. If I withdrew my sovereign order
and exhibited weakness, the whole city would descend back into chaos. Antigone had to be punished.
Unfortunately the gods ordained that I too
must pay for my stubborn will and dedication to punishing the wicked and
disloyal. “Upon my head [they have] delivered
this heavy punishment” (160). I have now
lost everything and everyone. I made my
decision and I must live with it for the rest of my tragic days.
Signed,
Creon
King of Thebes
Excellent work justifying the law Creon made and his reasoning behind punishing Antigone for defying his law. After reading this I had a much better understanding of where Creon was coming from. Good job Sonia :)
ReplyDeleteYes Sonia I agree with Dani. My position on Creon was a little unsure, but thanks to you it is clearer. I can now understand where he came from. I thought of him as a kind of fat old man who got what he wanted, but now I can see him as conflicted King who needed to regain control of his city. Thank you for your blog.
ReplyDelete"Playing Devils Advocate?" Is that true? Also, getting to write from Creon's perspective I thoroughly enjoyed what you said and agree. I love how you portray his change too. The idea that he thought he was correct and lived by his opinion, even to the point of the death of loved ones. I felt that you did a great job giving Creon the solid foundation he deserved.
ReplyDeleteNice writing Sonia! I thought it was interesting that your tone in this blog was adamant and resolute until the very last couple sentences when you grudgingly acknowledged that your edict was bound to meet with punishment. Even then though, Creon seemed very set in the rightness of his view, and-- as the comments above note-- you made a convincing case for it! I got the sense that Creon still feels bewildered as to how he's gotten pegged as such a villain when he was clearly doing what he believed (and still believes) what was needed for Thebes. I thought your point was especially persuasive when you noted that the city, which had felt such vulnerability and turmoil in recent days, needed a strong and unbending ruler to lead it through the aftermath of chaos. Ta dah, how about Creon?
ReplyDeleteGreat job exploring Creon as a three-dimensional character; you made a great case for his position!
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