French author, George Bernanos once said “It’s fine to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so. ” Bernanos believed that it is necessary for everyone to have pride in order to succeed. But, those who succeed may become too proud and will lose everything. Bernanos believed that pride is good in moderation, but having an excess of characteristics similar to it causes people to lose what they work so hard to obtain. Sophocles explores the idea of having traits that can be good in moderation, but in excess can cause people to lose everything they worked for.
In Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex and Antigone, the kings’ excessive pride and determination give them what they want temporarily, but also cause them to lose it; just as the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, will experience years later. Both Oedipus and his successor, Creon, have too much pride, and therefore believe that the gods favor them. After Oedipus discovers more details of his prophecy, his wife realizes that he has already fulfilled it and begs him not to pursue the truth; however, Oedipus is too proud to believe this and continues his search to prove the gods favor him and he is able to change his fate.
The chorus reflects on Oedipus’ actions and states that “The tyrant is a child of Pride who drinks from his great sickening cup recklessness and vanity, until from his high crest headlong he plummets to the dust of hope” (Sophocles, Oedipus Rex 46). Oedipus is too proud to believe that the gods will punish him. Therefore, he continues to seek the truth; a mistake that causes him to lose his position as king. Oedipus’ pride allows him to become king of Thebes, but then also causes him to lose that position and forces him to live in exile.
The chorus makes it clear that Oedipus is too proud and even though he continues to gain what he wants, he eventually will fall from his position of power and lose everything. When Creon’s son tells him he should revoke Antigone’s punishment, Creon responds, “Do you want me to show myself weak before the people? Or break my sworn word? No, I will not. The woman dies” (Sophocles, Antigone 217). Rather than go back on his word and not give the death penalty to Antigone, Creon cannot bear the thought of looking weak in front of the Theban citizens and moves forward with the punishment anyway.
He is too proud to revoke her punishment and thinks this will make him look like a stronger king, but instead it turns his citizens against him. His mistake also causes the deaths of his son and wife. Creon’s pride causes him to make a mistake that does not just negatively impact him, but also causes him to lose what he is desperately trying to hold onto: his power. Sophocles’s kings excessive pride enables them to make poor choices while ruling; however, this problem is not only relevant in Greek writings, as this also happens to Napoleon Bonaparte during his rule of France.
Napoleon had an excessive amount of pride that helped him reach the position as general, but his pride also caused his exile. Napoleon was extremely proud of his success in battle and his powerful army; but as he gained power, his pride grew. Napoleon once said “Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily”. Napoleon believed that if one dies an admirable death, people will remember him as a hero; but if one lives after his defeat, he dies everyday because he is remembered only for his cowardice.
The last thing Napoleon wanted was to lose and only be remembered for his failure. Napoleon was determined to always keep fighting and never surrender, so continued to fight the battles he had no chance of winning. His defeat in the Battle of Nations led to his exile to Elba. Napoleon’s determination helped him climb the ranks of the military up to commander of the Grand Armee and King of France, but also was the reason why he later loses those titles. However, pride is not the only trait that can have a negative impact, for excessive determination also causes people to lose everything.
Oedipus and Creon are both extremely determined to punish the person who has broken their decrees. Oedipus wishes to punish the person responsible for the murder of King Laios, and Creon wants to punish Antigone for breaking the first decree he makes as king. Oedipus tells his citizens, “as for the criminal, I pray to God–Whether it be a lurking thief, or one of a number– I pray that that man’s life be consumed in evil and wretchedness. And as for me, this curse applies no less” (Sophocles, Oedipus Rex 14). Oedipus is determined to run away from his fate, and that is how he lands in Thebes and becomes king.
As king, he is determined to find the culprit in the mystery of King Laios’ murder and exile him from Thebes, which leads to his discovery that he is the murderer and has already fulfilled his prophecy he was running from. Therefore Oedipus must exile himself from Thebes and step down from his reign. Oedipus’ determination to escape his fate leads him to Thebes, where he becomes king and gains the power wants. In Thebes, his extreme determination to punish the previous king’s murderer forces him to exile himself and give up his place on the throne.
Creon states his decree in front his citizens, and he declares, “no man is to touch [Polyneices] or say the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied; and the birds and scavenging dogs can do with him as they like. This is my command, and you can see the wisdom behind it. As long as I am king, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man” (Sophocles, Antigone 197). Creon’s determination to follow through with his first decree and punish the person who tries to bury Polyneices makes him unable to see that his punishment is wrong.
He goes forward with the punishment of death to Antigone, which causes his son to commit suicide along with his wife. Creon’s determination to keep his word and punish Antigone causes him to lose his family and position as king. His determination is the reason why he loses the position of power he has wanted for so long. The Theban kings in The Oedipus Cycle are extremely determined to punish those who broke man’s law, while Napoleon, king of France, was determined to never surrender.
Napoleon, the Emperor of France in the early 1800’s, was also extremely determined and this allowed him to climb the ranks of the military. But, it also allowed him to continue fighting when he should have surrendered. Napoleon was a skilled general and in the beginning of his career, conquered most of central Europe. Despite his extreme talent in battle, eventually the Allies– Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Britain–beat Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. After his defeat, the Allies exiled Napoleon to the island of Elba, but he did not stay there long.
He soon came back to France to try to restore his reputation and regain power during what is now known as The Hundred Days. This was a mistake as he is defeated again and exiled once more to St. Helena. Napoleon’s determination to climb the ranks and improve once he was at the top made him an extremely successful and notable general, arguably one of the best in history. Without his determination, he would never have had control over most of central Europe. However, it was his determination that brought him into battles that he had no chance of winning.
He was too determined to win that he was blind to the fact that continuing to fight would be worse than surrendering. His excessive determination allowed him to make the mistake of returning to France after he was exiled and fight again during The Hundred Days, which only led to him being exiled once more to the island of St. Helena, where he would die six years later. Oedipus, Creon, and Napoleon’s pride and determination helps them rise to power and become kings. Despite this, these same traits lead to the downfall of all three kings.
These traits in moderation help increase confidence and make people want to reach their goals. But, after people attain these goals, pride and determination can grow too much and cause people to unknowingly self sabotage. Pride and determination allow people to reach their goals, but the reward is only temporary and those who become too proud or too determined suffer the consequences. Pride and determination are necessary traits for mankind, but only in moderation, for these traits in excess cause people to lose everything.
