Moreover, the quote foreshadows Kreon's tragic loss of his family due to his immense inflexibility and stubbornness, which is actually his hamartia, or tragic flaw which leads to his downfall. Haemon's rebellion against his father can be considered the catalyst to Haemon's manhood. He is implicated in a man versus man conflict, more specifically, the father versus son conflict. This is a turning point in Haemon's life, where he has the courage to rebel against, confront and question his father's actions and decisions. .
To better understand how Antigone and Haemon can be considered rebels, it is imperative to consider Kreon's view on rebellion. Firstly, Kreon believes a man's sense of judgement should not be affected by a woman. He claims that the worst thing imaginable is an evil wife and that being labelled as weaker than a woman is worse than being destroyed by a man. Antigone's rebellion goes against Kreon's moral fibre and affects him on the greatest level imaginable. Antigone is a strong woman in a very patriarchal society. She does not let men control her and even the king is no threat to her ideas and values. Antigone proclaims: "I would not risk the punishment of the gods/for fear of the will of any man."(lines 458-459). Antigone is an early feminist and symbolizes a strong, powerful woman. She shows that no man can silence her and that only the gods themselves can stop her from fulfilling her goal. Kreon's position on a son's role is that he must "stand behind [his] father's judgment in every way./For that reason, men pray to produce/attentive sons in their houses,"(lines 640-642). Kreon believes that it is a failure to have such disobedient children; therefore, Haemon's rebellion strikes his rigid and unwavering father to the core. Haemon criticizes his father who is unable adapt to ever-changing situations by using a tree metaphor to demonstrate the value of flexibility: "you see/ trees bend and save even their twigs,/ but the stiff are destroyed root and branch" (lines 713-714).
