Pub #1: Written Law v. Moral Law

The theme that is displayed throughout the play "Antigone", which also carries out the plot, is the severity of how important it is to obey "Man's law" or else face harsh consequences. However, there is an underlying theme that is often neglected when discussing the characters and their actions and that theme is gender inequality. After being ousted as the one to bury Polyneices, Antigone is victim to sexism from her uncle and ruler of Thebes, Creon for defying his decree. The conflict between Antigone and Creon represents how men used their power to show their superiority over women and how little they were respected when standing up for themselves. 
Taking into account the setting and time period of this play, it is widely known that women were living in a male dominated society, with slim to none authority in levels of hierarchy. In the play, the Sentry initially tells Creon that a man has buried Polyneices (line 268-71), and Creon is upset upon hearing the news. Discovering that it is Antigone who is the criminal to perform the forbidden burial rite upon her brother enrages Creon even more. "I swear I am no man and she the man if she can win this and not pay for it" (Creon 528-529). Creon's initial reaction after learning that a man has disobeyed his decree to hearing that it was in fact woman makes him feel insecure and inferior to Antigone. The Sentry telling Creon that it was a man who committed the crime is very significant because the men did not for a second even reflect and think that a woman would have the audacity to perform such ritual even though it was one of their rights. Although the law was to be upheld for all citizens of Thebes, a woman stepping out of her boundaries and defying a man on an authoritative level was seen as the highest form of disrespect. 

Throughout the rest of the play, Creon continues to spout misogynistic remarks towards Antigone, even speaking ill of her towards her husband-to-be, Haemon. "Do not, my son, banish your good senses through pleasure in a woman, since you know that the embrace grows cold when an evil woman shares your bed and home" (Creon 699-702). The words that he relays to his son are values that he himself believes and tries to impose on him. He also goes on to say "If we must accept defeat, let it be from a man, we must not let people say that a woman beat us" (Creon 730-731). Accepting defeat from a woman is seen as a form of humiliation as well as bruise to the ego in Creon's eyes. This line from Creon is a perfect example of the amount of respect men held for women, clearly displaying the imbalance of equality between both genders. 

Antigone, seen as the martyr in this play, boldly went against the law and followed her moral conscience to give her brother the proper burial that was righteously ordained by the gods. Although Creon was overturned by the blank of his edict, not everyone felt the same as him and believed that she deserved to die. "Yet how could I win a greater share of glory than putting my own brother in his grave? All that are here would surely say that's true, if fear did not lock their tongues up" (Antigone 547-550). Creon's masculinity was fragile and shaken especially by Antigone's firm stance to reverence the gods' law over his own, which is an immense conflict that is underrated in the play. Creon's pride and rigid ways in the end does not favor him, thus causing death to present itself and teach a lesson that he will never forget.