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He is afflicted with a sense of self-righteousness and the idea that man is meant to interpret the gods' will through law. Though at times the watchman comes across as a bit buffoonish, he does serve a very clear purpose - to remind us that the danger facing Antigone is real, and that this is not a matter of simple bargaining over principles, but rather a dire battle over a person's right to live and die in accordance with divine or mundane law.Ī number of scholars argue that Creon's tragic flaw is his obstinacy - his unwillingness to change his point of view once he sets upon it, but in this section we begin to see that his flaw runs deeper. For all the philosophizing and melodrama associated with justice and idealism, here we have a sentry who is concerned with nothing else but preserving his life - even going so far as to continually interrupt Creon to ensure that he is going to escape unscathed and that things "won't be any worse than they have to be" (236). The watchman is reminiscent of Polonius from Hamlet - namely, a character of slight absurdity who is there to provide comic relief amidst a dramatic expanse of tragedy. The Chorus is surprised that Creon would indict Ismene, but Creon says that they are both guilty, as they connived together over the act.
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If he does not punish her, then he is not a man - and indeed, Antigone would come across as the more "manly." He says that he doesn't care if Antigone is his sister's child - she and Ismene must pay for the burial. The Chorus declares that Antigone is as unhinged as her father, but Creon says she is merely stubborn, arrogant, and boastful. Antigone adds that people who live in misery like her are better off dead. She further states that the gods didn't lay down these laws for human use and manipulation, and that she will endure the god's judgment of the burial, not Creon's, no matter now dire his punishment may be. She says that she answers to Zeus, not to Creon. Antigone says that she did know, but she didn't believe it was a viable law. Creon dismisses the watchman and then asks Antigone, in a move that would likely spare her life, if she even knew that burying the body was forbidden. The guards caught her, and she didn't even put up a fight.Ĭreon asks Antigone if she did the deed, and Antigone says she will never deny her guilt. Soon enough, they caught Antigone by her brother's side, renewing the burial. Creon demands details, and the watchman says that the guards uncovered the previously buried body and left it in the sun. Creon returns, and the watchman informs him of Antigone's guilt. The Chorus is aghast at the possibility that Antigone completed the burial of Polyneices, but the sentry confirms it. The only thing man cannot master is Death. The Chorus believes that man has the means to handle every need and never take steps towards the future without having the means to do so. The Chorus extols the nature of humans - their ability to master all beasts, to conquer land, sea, and air, to take advantage of language and mind, and to live in cities under law. The watchman insists that it is unjust to hold him responsible for the burial and soon leaves, declaring that he will flee, never to return. Creon says that money must be involved as a motivation for the burial and tells the watchman that unless he and his fellow sentries find the person who buried Polyneices, he will hang them all. He says that the gods would never have a caring thought for Polyneices - they know he is a traitor, and criminals are never honored by the gods. Creon is outraged, suggesting that the Elders are as stupid as they are old. The Chorus of Elders wonders aloud whether the gods are behind the burial. They held a lottery as to who would be the messenger of bad news, and the watchman lost. The guards began to blame each other before realizing that the only way to find the culprit would be to inform Creon. There was no sign of wild animals, he says, and no dogs sniffing or tugging at the corpse. The guards discovered the body - buried completely, with attention to ceremony, leaving no marks behind. Creon tells the watchman to spit it out, and the watchman says that Polyneices' body has been properly buried. Indeed, he says that he almost didn't come for fear that Creon would project his anger about the news onto him - but then realized that if Creon heard the news from another man, he might be even more angry. The watchman arrives, clearly nervous about being the bearer of bad news to Creon.