How can the following passage from Sophocles' play Antigone be interpreted?Creon: But know that hard minds fall the hardest, and that iron, so...

Creon speaks these words to the Chorus about Antigone (and in the presence of Antigone). Prior to this speech, Antigone explains why she went against Creon’s orders and buried her brother. The Chorus interjects,

She’s clearly the fierce daughter of a fierceFather; she doesn’t know how to bend with the wind.

In other words, Antigone is so strong-willed that she doesn’t know how to “go with the flow,” so to speak. Creon’s words piggy-back...

Creon speaks these words to the Chorus about Antigone (and in the presence of Antigone). Prior to this speech, Antigone explains why she went against Creon’s orders and buried her brother. The Chorus interjects,

She’s clearly the fierce daughter of a fierce
Father; she doesn’t know how to bend with the wind.

In other words, Antigone is so strong-willed that she doesn’t know how to “go with the flow,” so to speak. Creon’s words piggy-back off of the Chorus’s words. He warns that “hard minds fall the hardest” because people who are stubborn and refuse to change are going to be hurt the most when things don’t go their way; for them, there is no option of compromise. Just like a hard stone that cannot “bend” when put under pressure, Antigone will “break into pieces” if she does not relent and follow Creon’s order.

Creon’s warning to/about Antigone is somewhat ironic because he, too, refuses to “bend” or change his mind at all, resulting in not only his own downfall but that of those around him, including his wife, son, and, yes, Antigone.