The permeating theme present throughout Sophocles’s Antigone is the clash between allegiance to city and loyalty to family; the two significant characters of the play, Creon and Antigone, each represent one side of the conflict, respectively. By symbolizing their opposing perspectives, the protagonists thereby create a subtheme of male versus female. The specific passage under consideration can be interpreted as a reflection of this secondary subject matter.
The passage is preceded by the imprisonment of Antigone, charged with performing burial rights for her brother Polynices against the prohibitory law set forth by Creon. Creon is here discussing the justification behind her detention to his son, Haemon, who also happens to be Antigone’s betrothed. Creon begins by personifying “Anarchy.” It is important to note, however, that not only is anarchy humanized, but it is feminized. Thus, lawlessness and destruction become, at least in Creon’s view, stereotypically female qualities. Women are associated with wreaking havoc and causing disorder. By contrast, men are characterized as being strong, regimented individuals capable of withstanding the chaotic nature of the feminine sphere. Men are coupled with the city and its disciplined set of laws.
Creon, of course, sees himself as one of these rational men and thereby feels justified in his motivation for punishing Antigone. Submitting to the hubris of being male, Creon desires to destroy any source of female opposition. He even admits that he rather be defeated by another male, rather than fall at the hands of an innately-inferior female. Staunchly set on his misogynistic views, Creon drives away Haemon, who encourages leniency in spite of his father’s growing ego. By the completion of the play, the irony of Creon’s speech reveals itself: while in the process of angering the gods and destroying his city, he shakes the foundation of his house and ultimately falls at the hands of Antigone.
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