The last scene of Antigone, like the final scene of Oedipus the King, offers the spectacle of a proud, confident, decisive king brought low by fate. In his first appearance in this play, Creon energetically describes his vision of the ideal king to his people, confident that he will grow into the role with experience. Faced with his failure, Creon suffers not only a loss of self-esteem, but a loss of identity itself, as he cries: "I don't even exist — I'm no one. Nothing" (1446).
Note that in contrast to the philosophical tone of the last lines of Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus, the chorus in Antigone chants a cold, judgmental pronouncement on the tragedy. Rather than offering comfort or wondering in awe at the power of fate, the chorus here implies that Creon gets what he deserves, in a kind of direct divine retribution. The only solace, it seems, is the wisdom the observers can gain in watching the destruction of the proud.
