Oedipus Tyrannus Sophocles\' Play Considers

Oedipus Tyrannus

Sophocles' play considers the life of Oedipus, and the interplay of fate and free will. One of the questions often asked about the play is whether Oedipus could have used free will to stop the fulfillment of the prophesy concerning his life, and if not, whether he deserved his self-imposed fate at the end of the play. Furthermore, it has also been argued that Oedipus' character contains certain flaws that led to his ultimate fate, and that he therefore deserved his punishment. On the other hand, one could also argue that, as the play suggests, no matter what Oedipus did out of free will, he would have ended in the same position. The question of fate and character runs throughout this tragedy. The central question relating to Oedipus fate is whether he deserves it because of the flaws in his character, or whether it was imposed upon him by a cruel fate that he could do nothing to change.

Character

One of the central flaws in Oedipus' character is his confidence, stubbornness, and pride in himself; what was known in ancient Greek literature as "Hubris." This pride and confidence leads him to a relentless pursuit of the truth regarding the king's killer, regardless of all warnings for him to stop it. It appears that Sophocles is warning the audience of the dangers of too much self-investigation.

Oedipus' character is definitely one of the elements that leads to his fate in the end. Firstly, his stubborn search for the truth is what he sees as part of his kingly duties. His loyalty to Thebes and its people drives him towards the discovery of his own hand in the king's death. His reaction to this discovery is also a testament to Oedipus' character. He does not shy away from what he sees as his duty towards his people and his country. Oedipus blinds himself because he believes that it is what he deserves for what he has done. He does not attempt to hide behind the fact that he did not know that it was his father that he killed, and that he actually did so in an attempt to flee the very fate into which he unwittingly walked.

Oedipus' strength of character therefore remains throughout the play: he continues to do what he believes is right, regardless of warnings by trusted advisers. He completes the journey and retains his integrity, even though he loses everything else. He falls from a great height, but he does not lose the respect of his people or the audience. This makes the events all the more tragic.

The audience is not presented with the impression that Oedipus' fate is the direct result of any flaw in his character. Indeed, the people of Thebes love and respect him. He also shows his integrity in dealing with those seeking his downfall. Creon for example seeks a private audience with Oedipus, but Oedipus refuses this in the interest of disclosure in matters regarding his people. He also shows himself to be a good king, in placing the interests of his people before his own. When he is revealed as Laius' killer for example, he recognizes that he can no longer act as king, and steps down without hesitating. His guilt and remorse drives him to the final tragic act of also blinding himself as a symbol of his previous blindness to the truth.

Fate vs. Free Will

The interplay of fate and free will is one of the most prominent themes in the play. It appears that fate is victorious in the end, as the prophesy is fulfilled, regardless of Oedipus' attempts to divert it. Indeed, ever since Oedipus' birth, there have been attempts to escape the prophesy. Oedipus' mother and future wife, Jocasta for example, left him for dead when he was a baby. She chose to do this of her free will. She however also chose not to verify that he actually died. She chose not to kill him by some other, surer means. He was found and raised by another family as their own.

The new family chose not to tell him the truth about his heritage. Oedipus also chose not to ask questions regarding his past, although this might be ascribed to the fact that he did not know to ask in the first place. It was his choice to leave his adopted family to escape the prophesy that he knows about. The adopted family however choose even at this point not to inform Oedipus of the true nature of his fate.

Another choice that Oedipus makes is to kill Laius at the crossroads, regardless of the fact that the prophesy is very specific regarding where the murder will take place. When he marries the wife of the dead king, it also does not occur to him that this is remarkably parallel to the prophesy. One might therefore argue that Oedipus might have been deliberately blind to the truth of his actions in order to further his own good fortune. On the other hand, Sophocles' aim might have been more towards the literary element of irony that Oedipus' actions create, and towards the theme of the inescapability of fate.

As the play progresses, Oedipus makes choices according to what he believes is the correct thing to do. He shows his integrity of character in these choices. Regardless of the potential danger to himself and his high position, Oedipus nevertheless insists upon finding the truth. This choice leads to the fate that is eventually fulfilled.

It is therefore clear that the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy is due to the coordination of both fate and free will. It appears that Sophocles' message relates to the fact that fate is inevitable. Oedipus, his birth parents and his adoptive parents could have chosen any actions short of actually killing Oedipus and making sure that he was dead, and the prophesy would have found fulfillment.

If the inevitability of fate is taken into account, one might argue that Oedipus could not have done anything to deserve his fate. He was a victim of a prophesy made before he was born and was therefore destined to tragedy before he could have done anything to deserve it.

Oedipus' Guilt

Regardless of the above argument, Oedipus feels deeply guilty about his actions. He acknowledges that his actions were unacceptable and that he could therefore no longer be king. He therefore takes a punishment that he feels is deserving of his actions and willingly surrenders the kingship and his children to Creon. Oedipus' integrity of character also plays a part in his self-imposed punishment. He vowed to find the king's killer and deal with him in kind. When he is revealed as the killer, he believes there is no choice accept dealing with himself as he would with any other killer. For Oedipus, there is no question of guilt, even though he did not know of his guilt or the nature of his actions when he committed the crimes. There is for him therefore no question of his guilt in the matter.