The Sentry speaks about the person who buried Polyneices as so “He scattered on the skin some thirst dust; he did the ritual…” (Sentry 269-70). The Sentry states that a man buried Polyneices because at this time in society, a women would not dare go against the edict of a king. The Sentry is exhibiting qualities of a man during this time. He cannot even fathom that a woman would do such a thing. Men were not accustomed to women doing anything daring and were definitely not accepting of women going against men. Only a man could be so audacious to do something like go against a man, let alone the king.
Creon states, “I am no man and she the man if she can win this and not pay for it” (Creon 528-29). He is trying to say Antigone might as well be the man if she is going to get away with breaking his rule. Antigone hurts Creons ego when she buries Polyneices and he feels he needs to punish her greatly for her offense because she is a woman. It is unheard of in this society for woman to go against men without a punishment. In the very beginning of the play, Creon states “When I am alive no woman shall rule” (Creon 77). Before we are even introduced to Antigone going against Creon's rule. This shows Creon has a strong feeling that women are inferior and should not hold power at all. Gender inequality is continuously present in Creons diction.
Creon and Antigone are in conflict with each other as a result of the underlying theme of the play, gender inequality. When Creon finds out Antigone has buried Polyneices and went against his edict, he states, “From this time forth, these must be women, and not free to roam…” (Creon 633-34). Creon says that Antigone and Ismene must be locked up because they are woman. In Creons mind it is more serious that they are woman and disobeyed him than them actually breaking a rule in general. A law broken by a woman is worse than being broken by a man. Ismene backs this up in the very beginning of the play when she says, “You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men, and that we are ruled, by those who are stronger…” (Ismene 70-72). Ismene is implying women are not able to go against men, that they shouldn't because men are stronger.
Gender bias is prevalent in Antigone. When the characters speak of power they always use the word “he”. Such as the chorus in lines 368-411, the chorus describes the power of the male dominated society of this time. The chorus speaks about “man” building ships to overcome the waves in the sea, training animals. “Man” can overcome anything the chorus says. He does not mention women at all in this ode. Creon and Ismene speak about how Haemon, Creon's son, will feel about Creon's decision about Antigone. Ismene asks Creon if he will kill his sons fiance and Creon says ”Yes, there are other fields to plough” (Creon 624). This shows evidence how Creon feels about women. To him, they are disposable. Women are easily replaced to Creon .It is ironic to me how after Eurydice, Creon's wife, kills herself. Creon says “ I am dissolved in agony and misery.” if that is how he feels about women (Creon 1375). Creon says, “So we must stand on the side of what is orderly; we cannot give victory to a woman. If we must accept defeat, let it be from a man; we must not let people say that a woman beat us”. Creon’s person is hurt when he realizes a woman is not afraid of him. He is also afraid that if a woman defies him he will not be a man any longer. Creon and Antigones feud is the reason why Antigone, Haemon and Eurydice have ended their lives. They died because of Creon’s hurt ego. Creon needed to prove himself and prove he was going to punish Antigone, a woman, for going against him. He killed Antigone which hurt Haemon. Haemon looks into his fathers eyes, spits at him and plunges his sword into himself (Messenger 1297-99). Haemon killed himself out of spite of what Creon did to Antigone. Eurydice then kills herself because of her sons death.
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