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?
