I decided to take this from a post-Antigone stage for Creon. Here he reflects on his actions, attempting to make himself feel better, and feel justified, but also he sees the error in his ways, which is what happens at the end of the play.
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How did all of this develop? Was I, the King of Thebes, not
right? Were those two sons of King Oedipus not to be valued differently? One
was a hero to his country. The other, “came back from exile intending to burn
and destroy his fatherland and the gods of his fatherland, to drink the blood
of his kin, to make them slaves” (131). That type of despicable character
cannot be honored. Yes, it was the decree of the gods to bury our people, but I
ask you: How could “a man who came to burn [the god's] temples down, ransack
their holy shrines, their land, and their laws” be honored by such a proclamation?
“Is that the sort of man you think gods love?” (134). My actions were justified
by these reasons.
Even so, this dispute caused by a mere woman, evolved so
much so that I lost both my son and his bearer. Was I ignorant of my own
beliefs? Obdurate in a way? “How, if I tolerate a traitor at home, shall I rule
those abroad?” (144). But, I did say once that “a king whose lips are sealed by
fear, unwilling to seek advice, is damned” (131). If I had listened to my
beloved son, Teiresias, or even Antigone, could this have all been avoided? It
is too late, however. I must live my life in grief. I would rather be dead,
going onto the next life with my kin, but I must continue, mustn't I? How could
this be? That man was a traitor, but, have
I been the true conspirator? Is this all ultimately my fault?
This is seriously so good and your take on it was awesome. I never would have thought to do a personification of Creon following his failure. It's actually a really good idea, though, since I think if the play would have continued, we would have been able to see more of who Creon /really/ is. Plus, I'm sure we were all curious as to what would happen next. You did a good job of bringing out his sexism with a "mere woman." It shows that even though he's sorry that he screwed up big time, he's still so far gone in his ways that some things will never change for him. Yeah, he'll get it in Hades. (◡‿◡✿)
ReplyDeleteI love the indecisiveness portrayed in Creon during this aside of his. The inclusion of the CD's to support his view about Polynices that would ultimately justify his sentencing to suffer without a burial. You did an excellent job including his sexism against women in his decision making process! You persuaded me to see from his point of view, were the play to be continued, this would have made a very interesting ending.
ReplyDeleteThis is great Leyla! I love the confusion and grief of being wrong at the beginning! Then you change it to blaming the women! He cant take credit for anything he does! He is left with guilt for his families suicides but not the reason why and he doesn't care that his country does not like him anymore either. He is a bad bad man!
ReplyDeleteI seriously loved this! Personally, I liked how well you emphasized Creon's arrogant and prideful characteristics. The beginning was awesome, especially how you made Creon reflect on his actions, yet he wasn't sure what he really did wrong. My favorite part was when you talked about how Polynices should've been killed anyways since he did a dishonorable thing by trying to attack the king of Thebes and the city of Thebes. Your whole description is right on the nose! Awesome job! Made me dislike Creon even more!
ReplyDeleteThis actually made me LIKE Creon more-- I'm not sure if that's what you intended, but I really began to understand his motivations for proclaiming the edict in the first place. Those two quotes about the gods sounded very sensible to me. I believe that he could have reached a moment of personal crisis; he felt so sure, he felt so grounded in his motivations, and yet the events have smited him and proven him wrong. This adds to and builds on his complex character and shows his two different sides. Good work!
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