The role of fate in Oedipus Rex

Fate plays a cruel role in the lives of everyone related to Oedipus. Not only was Oedipus's life
condemned from the start, but the lives of his four children were also ill fated. The entire bloodline,
beginning with Oedipus, met a tragic end or led a tragic life through no fault of their own. If not for
fate, the lives of Oedipus and his entire family could have been much better off.
The whole debacle started with the birth of Oedipus. Oedipus was the only child of Laius and Jocasta,
king and queen of Thebes. They took Oedipus to the oracle at Delphi to have his prophecy read. The
oracle prophesized that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent this
from happening, Laius and Jocasta pierced Oedipus's foot and ordered a shepherd to abandon him
on a mountainside. The shepherd pitied the child and gave him to a herdsman from Corinth. The
herdsman then gave the child to Polybus and Merope, the childless king and queen of Corinth. They
adopted him and raised him as their own. Oedipus grew up thinking he was the prince of Corinth. He
heard rumors that he was not the natural son of Polybus and Merope, so he went to consult the
oracle of Delphi to find the truth. The oracle repeated the same p

rophecy that was told to Laius and Jocasta. Thinking that Polybus and Merope were his parents,
Oedipus left Corinth. Fate then stepped in and Oedipus met an old man accompanied by several
servants at a crossroads. The old man was Laius, on his way to Delphi. Since both men were proud,
they refused to step aside so the other could pass. Laius attacked Oedipus, who killed him and all
but one of the servants. Not realizing that he had fulfilled half of his terrible prophecy, Oedipus
continued on his way to Thebes. Upon arriving at Thebes, Oedipus was confronted by a great
Sphinx. After answering the Sphinx's riddle and ridding Thebes of the monster, Oedipus was
considered a hero. When the people learned of Laius's death, believed to be the fault of bandits,
they made Oedipus their new king. Oedipus eventually had four children: Eteocles, Polynices,
Ismene, and Antigone. This fulfilled the other half of his horrible fate. Eventually Oedipus learned of
what he had done was consumed by despair. After finding Jocasta hanging from the ceiling, Oedipus
shouted that he could no longer bear to see his shame and gouged out his eyes with the brooches
on Jocasta's dress. Oedipus was eventually banished from the city of Thebes, and wandered around
Greece, unaccepted because of the curse that was thought to be on him.

If not for fate, much of the despair in the lives of Oedipus and his children could have been averted.
Oedipus and Laius were both far too stubborn for their own well being, that much is true, but it was
fate that brought that bundle of pride together in the first place. Fate is also responsible for
Oedipus's glory in death.

Oedipus Rex: Fate V. Free Will

Oedipus Rex is a tragic play by Sophocles. The play is about a man who is doomed to the fate that was
predicted by the Oracle at Delphi before his birth. Oedipus learns of his fate and immediately tries to prevent
it, as did his mother and father. The actions Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laios took actually fulfilled the prophecy
the Oracle told them. This paper will examine the role of fate in this play and whether or not it is as
uncontrollable as Sophocles makes it out to be.
The king and queen of Thebes had a son named Oedipus. Upon the arrival of their son the king, Laios, and
the queen, Jocasta, went to see the Oracle at Delphi who foretold the fate of Laios, Jocasta, and baby
Oedipus. The Oracle told Laios and Jocasta that their son was fated to kill his father and marry his mother.
This, of course, struck fear into the heart of the young rulers. The couple made a decision to leave the baby
on a mountainside with his legs, or feet bound so that he would die of exposure. This move increases the
chances of having the prophecy fulfilled because they can no longer keep an eye on him, but the parents
are oblivious to this fact because they believe he will die. The problem with that plan is that the shepherd
that was supposed to leave him actually took him to his home city to be raised by King Polybos and Queen
Merope.

Oedipus grew up never knowing he wasn’t the son of Polybos. He heard someone say that he wasn’t his
father’s son one day and that bothered him greatly. He decided to take a trip to Delphi to see if he could
learn of his true origins. The Oracle told him what his fate was, but wouldn’t answer the question of his true
parents. Believing that his fate involved killing Polybos and marrying Merope, he left the city vowing not to
return until his father was dead. This is where Oedipus seals his fate, essentially. If he didn’t believe in the
power of the Oracle, or believed the man that said he wasn’t his father’s son, then he might have stayed with
his adoptive parents and lived a happier life. Oedipus tried to avoid his fate, but instead, he makes it more
possible for the prophecy to be fulfilled.

You could say that if it wasn’t for the Oracle, then Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laios may have lived happily ever
after. The Oracle led these three to their ruin. Having seen the Oracle about another matter, Oedipus heard
his fate, then proceeded to try and prevent it. Laios and Jocasta believed the Oracle, but they also believed
they could control their fate. The play makes it seem as though fate can’t be controlled because when you
try and control fate, the decisions you make cause your fate to be sealed. It is interesting to try and figure
out how these events would have been able to take place if no one tried to control their own fate. In all
likelihood, the fate of Oedipus would have been much different if his parents decided to accept fate, rather
than control it. It can be said that fate is only uncontrollable when you try to control it.

Fate and prophecy aren’t limited to just the prophecy the Oracle gave in this play. There is also
foreshadowing as to what will happen to Oedipus as he tries to discover the killer of Laios to save his city.
The priest of Apollo is blind and old and knows the real truth behind the identity of Oedipus. Oedipus mocks
him and states that he will never be like him, but in the end he’s blinded as the old man is and had
discovered that you can’t escape your fate. Oedipus believes that fate can be controlled throughout the play,
until the end. He yearns for the truth, but will not believe it when it is spelled out for him because he’s
already convinced himself that he beat his fate by moving out of the city of his father. Jocasta believes she’s
beaten fate, too. She didn’t believe what the Oracle had to say because Laios and she pierced their son’s
ankles and left him for dead. A dead baby can’t kill his father, or marry his mother. Jocasta believes that
killing her son was a mistake because if the son died, their fate couldn’t be fulfilled and if their fate couldn’t
be fulfilled, then it isn’t really fate after all.

Sophocles is making a point with Oedipus Rex. His point is that the more you try and control fate, the more it
controls you. What does this mean exactly? Do you control your fate by accepting it? Or do you just live your
life without trying to learn what your fate will be? Or is he just saying that no matter what you do, your fate
will fulfill itself with or without your help? It seems likely that the point would be to just live your life and do
not worry what fate will bring you because when you try to control the uncontrollable, you end up virtually
painting yourself into a corner. Throughout the play you see Oedipus get broken from fate and trying to
escape it. It would seem that he would lose all hope because no matter what he does, the prophecies laid
out for him keep coming true. Sophocles was probably trying to say to just live your life. You can’t change
your fate, so why not just keep it a surprise? Don’t waste your time with oracles and don’t try and control
your fate.

Oedipus' unyielding desire to uncover the truth about Laius' murder and
the mystery surrounding his own birth, led him to the tragic realization of
his horrific deeds. Teiresias, Jocasta, and the herdsman tried to stop him
from pursuing the truth. Take for example a part of the last conversation
between Jocasta and Oedipus. After realizing that the prophecy had came
true, Jocasta begs him to let the mystery go unsolved for once. No! By the
gods, no; leave it if you care for your own life. I suffer. ‘Tis enough”.
Oedipus replies, I cannot yield my right to know the truth”. He is unable to
stop his quest for the truth, even under his wife's pleading. For it is in his
own vain that he must solve the final riddle of his own life. At the end of
this tragic story, when Oedipus gouges out his eyes, The events in Oedipus
the King, written by Sophocles, show an underlying relationship of man's
free will existing within the cosmic order or fate that the Greeks believed
guided the universe. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held
responsible for his own actions. Both the concepts of fate and free will
played an integral part in Oedipus' destruction. Although he was a victim of
fate, he was not controlled by it. Oedipus was destined from birth to
someday marry his mother and to murder his father. This prophecy as
warned by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was unconditional and inevitably
would come to pass, no matter what he may have done to avoid it. His past
actions were determined by fate, but his adventures in Thebes were
controlled by his own free will. From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus
took many actions leading to his own downfall. He could have endured the
plague, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he had Creon go to
Delphi. When he learned of Apollo's word, he could have calmly
investigated the murder of the former King Laius, but in his hastiness, he
condemns the murderer, and in so, unknowingly curses himself. Tis a just
zeal for the cause of that slain man. And right it is in me that ye shall see
me fighting that cause for Phoebus and for Thebes”. In order for Sophocles'
play to be categorized as tragic, the tragic hero had to have some sort of a
flaw. The hero’s tragic flaws are the qualities, which ultimately lead to his
downfall. Oedipus’ pride, ignorance, insolence towards the gods, and
unrelenting quest for the truth ultimately contributed to his destruction.
When Terrisias told Oedipus that he was responsible for the murder of
Laius, he became enraged and calls the old oracle a liar. He ran away from
his home in Corinth, in hopes of outsmarting the gods divine will. Like his
father, Oedipus also sought ways to escape the horrible destiny told by the
oracle of Apollo. The chorus warns us of man's need to have reverence for
the gods, and the dangers of too much pride. But if a man tread the ways of
arrogance; fear not justice, honour not the gods enshrined; evil take him!
Ruin be the prize of his fatal pride!” the chorus asks him what god urged
him to blind himself. Oedipus replied, ’Twas Apollo, friends, willed the evil,
willed, and brought the agony to pass! And yet the hand that struck was
mine, mine only”. He claimed full responsibility for his actions. Oedipus was
guilty of killing his father and marrying his mother, but perhaps the true sin
lay in his overzealous attempt to raise himself to the level of the gods by
trying to escape his fate. Ultimately Oedipus was judged for his pride in his
conquests surrounding Thebes. This judgement brought him a loss of
everything and an exile from Thebes. Although Oedipus was unaware of the
facts concerning the true nature of Laius and Jocasta, the extent of his
crimes were still malicious. When he tears out his eyes Oedipus is
accepting the full burden of his acts and knew that he must be punished for
his sins. Therefore the last act of destruction was caused by Oedipus' free
will, but his tragic fate came about because of the role of the gods in
human affairs. The chorus concludes this tragedy by warning the Greeks
that the only way to happiness is through humility and respect towards the
gods. They also warn not to take anything for granted, or else suffer a fate
like that of Oedipus. Look, ye who dwell in Thebes. This man was Oedipus.
That mighty king, who knew the riddle’s mystery, whom all the city envied,
fortune’s favorite. Behold, in the event, the storm of his calamities, and,
being mortal, think on that last day of death, which all must see, and speak
of no man’s happiness till, without sorrow, he hath passed the goal of life.”
Do you think that fate controls the lives of everyday people, or do you think someone's actions
control their lives? In the play, Oedipus Rex, fate played an important role in the lives of the
characters. . In order to avoid their predestined fate, the main characters took every precaution to
avoid their predetermined destinies. The queen, Iocasta, and her son, Oedipus, both tried to
escape what Teriresias, the oracle, told them, however, it would eventually come back to haunt
them. [Fate controlled the lives of the characters in this play...] NEW THESIS

When queen Iocasta found that she and king Laius were to have child, she went to consult
an oracle for guidance. However, Teriresias had a devastating prophecy that their first born son
would kill the king his father, and marry his mother. In order to prevent the prophecy from being
fulfilled, the king upon the birth of his son pierced the baby's feet with an iron pin to prevent the
baby from using his feet. The king ordered a shepherd to abandon the child in the mountains, to
be left to die. [The shepherd, in spite of his order from the king, gave the baby, instead, to one of
his friends, a herdsman from Corinth. The herdsman gave the baby to his master, the king of
Corinth. It was with this family that Oedipus grew up not knowing his real family or the fate that
awaited him.] AVOID SUMMARY!!!

As Oedipus became a young man, he went to consult the same oracle that his biological
mother queen Iocasta did. Teriresias the oracle told Oedipus the same prophecy that he had
previously revealed to queen Iocasta, his mother.

Oedipus, in order to escape his prophesized fate, fled Corinth never to return. He was
unaware that he was adopted. During his journey, Oedipus came across an old vile tempered man
who insulted him. Oedipus, in defense of his honor, slayed the old man and all of his servants.
Upon reaching Thebes, Oedipus was asked a riddle by the Sphinx of Thebes. The Sphinx is a
monster that is part lion, part eagle, and part human female and like to ask riddles. [ The question
she asked was what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs at
night. Oedipus answered the question correctly, and the Sphinx left. The people of Thebes, in
gratitude to Oedipus for ridding them of the Sphinx, made him king]. DON'T RETELL
STORY!!!

Another plague was placed on the city. They found out that the city was being punished
because the murderer of king Laius had gone unharmed. "He was murdered; and Apollo
commands us now To take revenge upon whoever killed him" (Prologue 110-111). Creon,
Iocasta's brother, stated the only way to rid ourselves of this defilement is, "By exile or death,
blood for blood. It was Murder that brought the plague-wind on the city (Prologue 105).
Oedipus vowed to find the murderer, and he, also, said that anyone who knew anything should
come forward or the same penalty will be to him or her. Creon went to get Teriresias, and
although hesitant at first, he told Oedipus that he killed his father. "So? I charge, you, [Oedipus]
then, Abide by the proclamation you have made. From this day forth Never speak again to these
men or to me; You yourself are the pollution of this country" (Scene I, 131-135). At first,
Oedipus did not want to believe what Teriresias said. After he left he started questioning
everything, until he realized it was himself who killed his father.

Ah God! It was true! All the prophecies! ---Now, O Light, may I look upon you or the last
time! I, Oedipus, Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, Damned in the blood he
shed with his own hand! (Scene IV, 68-72)

He then realized he had married his mother, which is just what had been prophesized. Queen
Iocasta hung herself, and Oedipus used her ornaments from her gown and gouged them into his
eyes, never to see again.

Fate played an important role in the characters in this play. Both queen Iocasta and
Oedipus tried to escape their predestined fate. Iocasta had her servant leave Oedipus in the
mountains to die. Oedipus fled Corinth in fear that he would kill his parents, at the time not
knowing he was adopted.

The role of fate is often quite big in tragedy, and especially in Greek tragedy, where
messages saying not to defy the gods appeared frequent;y. Thism is true for Oedipus
Rex, a greek tragedy by Sophocles.

Oedipus, the protagonist, is told by the Oracle that he will kill his father sand marry
his mother. Like any loving son would do, he runs away from home so that iut will
be impossible form him to do the deed without returning. HWat Oedipus does not
know is that he was adopted. A sheapard found him aqs an abandoned baby and
gave it to the rulers Polybus and Merope, who raised him as their son. When he
runs away from home, he roams the roads and chanches upoon his real father,
Laius. Mistaking him and his groupo for robbers, Oerdipus kills them, trhuis
fiulfilling the prophecy. Later, when he reaches Thebes and saves it from the
Sphinx, he marries hid mmkother the QUeen, thus fiulfilling the prophecy.

Tis helps to make the characters into real, three-dimensional people to whom we can
realte. ""To be human is to err."" We often try to fix things we have broken, but
often thiungs are worse of than before as a result of our meddling. Pessimists would
say that all throgun the ages, life has some shock for us. T%his means that nearly
all of us would be able to relate to the prtagonist, Oedipus.

FDate also p,ay a role in the second part of the prophecy, that he would marry his
mother. By answering the Sphinx's rfiddle, he ridded the city of Thebes of the
monster and was made King and therefore married Jocasta, the QUeen and his
real ,mother. This part was very important for the anciuent greek audiences. It
shiows that evemn if you did something good, life saving a city, you copuld never
defy the gods. Thgey know everything you have done and will do, indeed, they have
planned it so. You can see that fate and the gids carried storng messages in those
times. Lioke the Christian plays in the Middle Gaes, these tragedys served a role as
relgios instruction.

While fate and the gods may not carry its relevance into the millenia, making a fatal
mistake after having tried will affect almost anyone.

Oedipus - The Tragic Hero

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. According to
Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls
apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics
described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must
cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the
crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with
his idealized self, but neither the grandiose nor the depressive Narcissus can really
love himself (Miller 67). All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero
according to Aristotle's ideas about tragedy, and a narcissist. Using Oedipus as an
ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be an important or influential man
who makes an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the consequences of his
actions. Those actions are seen when Oedipus forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny
and his father's name. When Teiresias tries to warn him by saying I say that you and
your most dearly loved are wrapped together in a hideous sin, blind to the horror of
it (Sophocles 428). Oedipus still does not care and proceeds with his questioning as
if he did not understand what Teiresias was talking about. The tragic hero must learn
a lesson from his errors in judgment and become an example to the audience of
what happens when great men fall from their lofty social or political positions.
According to Miller, a person who is great, who is admired everywhere, and needs
this admiration to survive, has one of the extreme forms of narcissism, which is
grandiosity. Grandiosity can be seen when a person admires himself, his qualities,
such as beauty, cleverness, and talents, and his success and achievements greatly.
If one of these happens to fail, then the catastrophe of a severe depression is near
(Miller 34). Those actions happen when the Herdsman tells Oedipus who his mother
is, and Oedipus replies Oh, oh, then everything has come out true. Light, I shall not
look on you Again. I have been born where I should not be born, I have been
married where I should not marry, I have killed whom I should not kill; now all is
clear (Sophocles 1144). Oedipus's decision to pursue his questioning is wrong; his
grandiosity blinded him and, therefore, his fate is not deserved, but it is far beyond
his control. A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of
Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. But when it is prophesized to Oedipus,
he sets forth from the city of his foster parents in order to prevent this terrible fate
from occurring. Oedipus's destiny is not deserved because he is being punished for
his parent's actions. His birth parents seek the advice of the Delphi Oracle, who
recommends that they should not have any children. When the boy is born, Laius is
overcome with terror when he remembers the oracle. Oedipus is abandoned by his
birth parents and is denied their love, which is what results in what Miller calls
Depression as Denial of the Self. Depression results from a denial of one's own
emotional reactions, and we cannot really love if we deny our truth, the truth about
our parents and caregivers as, well as about ourselves (Miller 43). The birth of
Oedipus presets his destiny to result in tragedy even though he is of noble birth. In
tragedies, protagonists are usually of the nobility that makes their falls seem
greater. Oedipus just happens to be born a prince, and he has saved a kingdom that
is rightfully his from the Sphinx. His destiny is to be of noble stature from birth,
which is denied to him by his parents, but given back by the Sphinx. His nobility
deceived him as well as his reflection, since it shows only his perfect, wonderful face
and not his inner world, his pain, his history (Miller 66). When he relies on his status,
he is blind, not physically, but emotionally. He is blind in his actions; therefore he
does not see that the questioning would bring him only misery. Later, after his self-
inflicted blinding, Oedipus sees his actions as wrongdoing when he says What use
are my eyes to me, who could never - See anything pleasant again? (Sophocles
1293) and that blindness does not necessarily have to be physical as we can se when
he says, If I had sight, I know not with what eyes I would have looked (Sophocles
1325). In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays the main character, Oedipus, as
a good- natured person who has bad judgment and is frail. Oedipus makes a few
fatal decisions and is condemned to profound suffering because of them. Agreeing
with Aristotle that Oedipus' misfortune happens because of his tragic flaw. If he
hadn't been so judgmental or narcissistic, as Miller would characterize a personality
like Oedipus, he would never have killed King Laius and called Teiresias a liar. In the
beginning, Teiresias is simply trying to ease him slowly into the truth; but Oedipus is
too proud to see any truths, and he refuses to believe that he could have been
responsible for such a horrible crime. He learns a lesson about life and how there is
more to it than just one person's fate.

Definition of Tragedy:
“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain
magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds
being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with
incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such
emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its
quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody.”

Would Aristotle consider 'Oedipus Rex' a tragedy?

Yes, Aristotle [384 B.C.E.-322 B.C.E.] would consider 'Oedipus Rex' a tragedy. First,
Theban King Oedipus is a hero, because he does great deeds and has great powers or
strength. For example, he delivers Thebes from the beastly, bullying Sphinx. He alone
knows the answer to the Sphinx's unanswerable riddle.

Second, Oedipus is noble. He's the biological son of Theban royal rulers. On both his
parents' sides of the family, he descends from Cadmus, Thebes' founder and first king
around 2000 B.C.E. Additionally, he's raised as the royal heir apparent by adoptive/foster
royal parents.

Third, Oedipus is tripped up by tragically fatal flaws within his own character and
personality. For example, he's so proud that he thinks that he can beat the gods and
escape his horrific fate. But the more he tries to flee from his fate, the closer his flight
takes him to it because of his own flawed decision making. He's warned that he'll kill his
father and marry his mother.

So Oedipus flees what he thinks is his hometown, and the royal couple that he believes to
be his biological parents. He then goes on to kill a man old enough to be his father and
marry a woman old enough to be his mother. And so the prophecy is fulfilled. An
inescapable fate becomes inescapable through the hero's free will in making bad choices
and decisions. What Oedipus takes to be biological parents are his adoptive/foster
parents, Corinthian King Polybus and Corinthian Queen Merope. What he takes to be
strangers are in fact his true parents, Theban King Laius and Theban Queen Jocasta.

Fourth, a pestilence descends upon the city of Thebes. Harvests go bad, livestock die, and
more Thebans die than are born. The reason is the unsolved killing of Laius by Oedipus,
who is the victim's son and subject. Oedipus needs to be purified of his unknowing but
nevertheless heinous crimes. He doesn't go through ritual purification after the killing of
father and sovereign. So Oedipus' pollution becomes the pollution of all Thebes.

Fifth, there's a purification of the hero and therefore of his environment. That
purification comes about through the hero's death, destruction or downfall. The hero
commits an offense against the gods. All offenses must be punished be they the result of
deliberate intent or unknowing action. Oedipus' cleansing by being identified and
punished as the killer likewise becomes the cleansing of all Thebes.

Sixth, the hero's story is told in verse. That verse doesn't have to rhyme. Socrates [496
B.C.E.-406 B.C.E.] sets his play up as lines of verse. The lines don't rhyme. But the play
is clearly a work of poetry, odes and music.