Oedipus, King of Thebes, is bounded by fate and blinded by his ignorance. In Sophocles Oedipus the King, Oedipus is doomed to fall, predestined by fortune. By the plays end, the King of Thebes fulfills the oracle. This sentiment is supported by several examples throughout the tragedy, all of which are beyond the control of the poor King. His fall from grace is to occur regardless of his character or any outside intervention. Despite Oedipuss physical ability to see, he is blinded to the truth because of his arrogance and character traits. This contrasts the prophet Tiresias, who is inherently blind but sees not only the truth but beyond, outside the realm of the present. The King jeers Tiresias for his blindness when he has to force him to proclaim his revelation against his will. Oedipus is so blinded by his own self-assertion that he does not even see the significance of his name, serving as an ironic clue to his past. The prophecy that Oedipus would murder his father and marry his mother seems completely irrational to the King because of his naivety. In an ironic twist, Oedipus becomes more like Tiresias in the end, physically blinded himself but finally grasping the truth. Oedipus cannot accept responsibility of his past because he fears the truth, despite all of the clues that lay before him.
As the tragedy opens, Oedipuss city Thebes, is ridden with plague. Many are dying and the people, represented as the Chorus, are in a somewhat alarmed state. The King holds true to his character and addresses the problem head on. He sends Creon, his brother-in-law and uncle, to the prophet Delphi to gain insight on how to end the plague. Unknown to Oedipus, his biological father Laius received the prophecy that his son would kill him and marry his wife, from the same oracle. In witness of the Chorus, Creon returns and at the Kings bidding delivers his message in the presence of the public. As a measure of his own greatness, he will resolve Thebess distress, and he will do it openly for all to see. That is why he can dismiss Creons suggestion that he listen to the report about the oracle privately first.(Johnston) Delphi sends word that Laiuss murderer must be banished or killed to drive the desolation of the plague from Thebes. Oedipus immediately and publicly pronounces a curse on Laiuss murderer, obviously having no clue that he is that man.
Oedipus soon sends for Tiresias, so that he may acquire the identity of Laiuss killer. When the blind prophet refuses to divulge who killed Laius, Oedipus demeans him for his blindness and states his disbelief in Tiresiass ability to prophesize. After much quarreling, Tiresias exclaims to all that Oedipus is the man he seeks. The King charges that the prophet is in Creons pocket, involved in a political scheme for the throne. To this charge Tiresias exclaims, Unhappy man! Those jeers you hurl at me before long all these men will hurl at you (Sophocles line 377-378). In Oedipuss eyes, Tiresiass assertion cannot be the truth and is full of contempt.
The opening scenes in the play are crucial and allow the reader to draw several important conclusions. It is determined that it would be against Oedipuss nature to handle any part of the situation outside of the eye of the public. This is simply because he is very confident in his abilities and has no idea that he is the Laiuss murderer. As the reader later learns, even as the King begins to suspect that Tiresiass proclamation is true, he values the pursuit of the truth more than what the truth might reveal (Johnston). From the exchange with the blind prophet, the story begins to weave an image of Oedipuss blindness. A different man in the Kings place might not have been spurred to anger when accused of being a murderer. Instead, that person may have entertained the idea internally before acting so rashly and lashing out defensively. From this, the reader begins to understand that Oedipus is blind to his past and his fate despite many indications that the truth is what has been discerned.
After these first few scenes the plot truly begins to unravel, slowly revealing more to all the characters involved and to the King himself. Upon word of Oedipuss accusation, Creon comes to the palace to defend his honor. After a heated squabble, Creon eloquently tells the King to send messenger to Delphi, to inquire if he returned with the true message. He ends his articulate digression with, In time youll know securely without stumbling, for time alone can prove a just man just, though you can know a bad man in a day (line 618-620). Jocasta, the Kings wife and biological mother, comes out of the palace to break up the fight and to investigate the ruckus.
Upon learning who Tiresias has alleged the murderer to be, Jocasta attempts to console her husband. During their dialogue a few important details are revealed. Jocasta bids Oedipus to heed not any prophecy given by a mortal. She explains that the ministers of the oracle Delphi predicted that Laius would be eradicated by his son. She continues to clarify that he was not murdered by their son but by foreign robbers. She tells of how her son was strewn into a field, yoked by the ball joints of its feet (line 723). In her explanation she discloses that the murder occurred at a place where three roads meet (line 721). When this specific detail is mentioned, Oedipus takes curious notice. He remembers aloud how he once killed a group of men at a place of the same description. At this point, he also reveals a time when he was told that he was not Polybuss son. Polybus and his wife were the people Oedipus was raised by, all the time believing them to be his parents. Oedipus explains that after he heard this he went to Delphi and was given roughly the same prophecy that the Oracle had given to Laius. Despite these astounding coincidences, Oedipus still cannot grasp reality, but does begin to have a slight suspicion that it could have been him (Cox 52). Jocasta continues to recall how one herdsman, from the group with which Laius was traveling, was spared from death. Upon hearing this, Oedipus bids Jocasta to send for the herdsman at once. Jocasta agrees but the text implies that she has reservations (Cox 54).
This drawn out scene has great significance, in that it begins a pattern of calling on other people to get to the bottom of the accusation and to unravel the mystery of Laiuss murder. It also more clearly reveals Oedipuss profound idiocy. The King remembers when he slaughtered several men, in seemingly the same place as Laius. Despite this fact, the idea that it was Laius that he killed does not dawn on him (Johnston). An admired ruler and a grown man, Oedipus displays characteristics of a child. He displays the traits of naivety and the inability to accept responsibility. Creon affectively defends himself and proves his wit and patience. In Jocastas discourse, she persistently faults other people for her sons death, especially her late husband Laius. The reader later learns that it was she that physically gave her son to the shepherd to be exterminated. The reader is left to consider the outcome if Oedipus had taken Jocastas advice and forgotten the problem (Johnston). However, the desire to uncover the enigmas of his past and save Thebes, is too great to relent to her request. This shows that Oedipus values the disclosure of the truth morose than the outcome he has just begun to consider.
The third and fourth episodes expose the truth that is known to the reader throughout the play. A messenger comes from Corinth, the land of which Polybus is king. The courier brings news that Polybus has died and that Corinth has established Oedipus as their king. This news brings joy to both Jocasta and her husband, believing immediately that the prophecy has been proven wrong. Oedipus explains that he still cant return to the land of his youth because his presumed mother still lives. He still fears part of the prophecy proving to be valid. The messenger enlightens the pair with the knowledge that Polybuss wife is in no way related to the King of Thebes. He substantiates this with the story of Oedipus being handed to him by another herdsman when he was a baby. He claims to have been the Kings savior that day, rescuing him from his yoked and pierced feet. To confirm the messengers account of what had occurred, the herdsman must been seen. When the King expressed this desire, Jocasta explicitly opposes the action about to be taken. She begs her spouse to forget it but he, of course, refuses. When he refuses to consider his wifes advice and graveling, she runs into the palace in a state of grief. Soon the herdsman arrives, for it was the man Oedipus had Jocasta send for previously, the man spared from death. Against his will and with a good deal of prodding, the herdsman reveals the inevitable. Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta. He had been given to the shepherd to be killed three days after his birth. His feet had been yoked and pierced; all of this done to prevent the fate of the prophecy given to Laius, from running its course. Oedipus had taken his fathers life with his bare hands, married his mother, produced his own children with her, and was now causing the plague in Thebes. Obviously, it was worse than Oedipus or anyone connected to him ever imagined.
The exodus creates and ugly scene. Jocasta runs into her bed chamber, calling out for her deceased husband Laius. Soon, Oedipus rushes in to find her dead, having hung herself. The distraught King cuts her down, takes the pins from her dress, and gauges them into his own eyes repeatedly. Creon comes to the palace making it clear that he does so not to ridicule Oedipus. The King requests only that Creon take care of his daughters and that he be banished from his land, to a place where there will be no-one to speak to him (line 1446-1447). Oedipus visits with his daughters and the play comes to a tragic close.
In conclusion, Jocasta goes through a role reversing transition similar to the one Oedipus traverses. Throughout the play, there is evidence that she blames her sons death on her deceased husband Laius. Due to this blame, it seems to the reader that she mourns predominantly for her lost son. She also does not believe in prophecy from mortal men. When she realizes the truth before the herdsman arrives, she can no longer blame her first husband for fearing the prophecy. Before her suicide, she is calling out for Laius not her dead infant son. She no longer mourns her son and that knows what the oracle said to be the truth. Through this, she demonstrates a reversed position from her original one (Cox 67). Oedipus could have never escaped the fate that finally made him realize the truth. He could not control being cast away as an infant or not knowing his real parents identity. He only left Corinth so that the prophecy could not come true but in doing so only got destinys wheels rolling. His self assured nature contributed to his blindness. Even as all of the evidence accumulated, he failed to seize the substance of reality that would inspire realization. In all of this he was blind and nave. Oedipus didnt even decipher his name, which means swollen foot, as a clue to his past. At the finale, Oedipus ironically blinds himself reversing from his initial stance. He is no longer able to physically see but is now able to see the truth that was under his nose the entire time. It was Oedipuss destiny that he wouldnt accept. It was his fate that he was blind to.
Bibliography
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Thinking and Writing about Literature. 2nd edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. 293-334
Johnston, Ian. Home Page. Fate, Freedom, and the Tragic Experience: An Introductory Lecture on Oedipus the King. Oct. 11 2000
Cox, Michael W. Sophocles Oedipus the King. Explicator. Winter 99, vol. 57, issue 2: 67
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