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A venerated tragedy of the Classical Greek theatre and a highly controversial drama of nineteenth century Europe inhabit the same thematic territory. What links Antigone, by Sophocles, and A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen is their examination of relations between men and women. In both works, the major male character embodies an idea that, in turn, powerfully affects other characters. Despite their major male differences, Creon and Torvald Helmer address the challenge of how men and women are to live together in harmony. Ruler of Thebes in the wake of war, Creon cherishes order and loyalty above all else. He cannot bear to be defied, any more than he can bear to watch the laws of the state defied. “Never at my hands/will the traitor be honored over the patriot.” (Sophocles 232-233) He has Polyneices' body defiled while Eteocles is honored because Creon feels that he cannot treat both brothers equally when one was a traitor and the other was loyal. Creon is in many ways a sympathetic character, but he often abuses his power. His faults do not necessarily lie in a lust for power; often, he has noble intentions. “Of course you cannot know a man completely, /his character, his principles, sense of judgment,/ not t