English Essay Allen Zhou Oedipus is a helpless victim of fate Discuss this statement with close reference to Sophocles

play Oedipus Rex. Within Sophocles play Oedipus Rex fate, the concept of an inevitable future, is a central theme. In Greek mythology, it is called Moirai and is personified by three female deities: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Each of these deities has a role in controlling every mortal creatures path through life: Clotho being the one who brings the mortal into existence; Lachesis being the one to determine the path; and Atropos, the one to determine the manner as well as the time of death. In a more modern definition, fate is the set of events which are predetermined and ordered by an intangible power or agency. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the protagonist, has a fate that was conveyed to him by the Oracle of Apollo through a prophecy. In more detail, it was prophesized he would kill his father and marry his mother. Sophocles used the concept of fate to provide the necessary setting for the basis of the tragedy and to create dramatic irony. Oedipus is a helpless victim of fate as it is expressed that Oedipus has a false sense of free will since he is blind to the truth, never in possession of the information to understand his own circumstances. Another reason why Oedipus cannot truly escape his fate is because his identity is marked by the prophecy. Not only do the aspects of Oedipus character lead him to the inevitability of his fate, the fact that he is a character of a fictional play is synonymous to him being powerless. There is absolutely no way Oedipus has true control over his life. By portraying Oedipus as a helpless victim of fate, Sophocles creates a play of both philosophical and literary importance.

Oedipus has a false sense of free will which leads him to his fall. His actions and decisions are seemingly of his own accord but they eventually direct him towards the inevitable prediction of the prophecy. In the beginning, when he learns of his fate, he tries to thwart the powers of fate by running away from his father in Corinth: At this I fled away, putting the stars Between me and Corinth, never to see home again, That no such horror should ever come to pass (Lines 795-797). Believing he has succeeded in changing his fate, he becomes ignorant of his circumstances and this creates a false sense of free will. Teiresias, the prophet even notifies him that he is Living in ignorance of [his] own undoing (Line 369). While he lives in metaphorical blindness, he is unable to realise his predicament and thus, unable to escape fate. In a sense, it was his knowledge of his fate from the prophecy that moved Oedipus to his doom. In effect, believing in his own decisions was the factor that leads him to his blindness of the truth can only be due to the power of fate.

A part of Oedipus helplessness comes from the fact that the prophecy is a significant part of his identity. We learn that Oedipus has swollen feet due to his parents binding his feet tightly with a pin during his infancy. His parents did this as a consequence of learning of Oedipus fate and as an attempt to escape it themselves. In other words, the physical deformity he carries is a symbol of his fate since The infirmity in your ankles tells the tale (Line 1037). Also, the name Oedipus literally means swollen foot in Greek so it represents how he cannot escape the clutches of fate wherever he goes: To it you owe your present name (Line 1041). In essence, he is marked both physically and mentally. So to escape his fate, Oedipus must escape his identity first which is impossible. As such, the prophecy is unavoidable and he is damned to suffer the inevitable.

Since Oedipus is a fictional character, he is basically powerless and a victim to fate. The notion of a fictional character is one that is completely and utterly controlled by the author. Sophocles is essentially the intangible agency that determines every move, thought and occurrence in the fictional world and Oedipus is the creation, a victim at the discretion of classical Greek theatre. It could be said that Sophocles is in fact the true God that controls fate of all the people in Oedipus Rex. As the characters worship this God, there exists a belief that God will decide, not I on line 1519. It follows that all characters are under the absolute power of God and as such, are unable to break away from the plot of the story. It would seem that Oedipus could only accept his destiny as he expresses despair to his daughters by saying Your days/ Can only end in fruitless maidenhood (Lines 1497-1498). Such a notion is completely incomprehensible to Oedipus. Hence, there is no true free will from the perspective of audience members as he is a character created to fulfil the role of a tragic hero.

The concept of fate renders Oedipus a powerless sufferer. Although at first he believes he had escaped the clutches of fate by deserting his life in Corinth, it simply resulted in his blindness to the truth which in turn, put him under a false sense of free will. It is his very own actions that fulfil the prophecy. Also, his inescapable identity is fundamentally binding him to the atrocious truth. Not only is his characterisation portraying him as helpless, but also, the fact that he is a product of fiction equates to Oedipus having no possible way of avoiding fate as foretold by the story. Even if he had some form of awareness of his circumstances and tried to flee from it, his character was created to induce dramatic irony and thus, made to meet his horrible fate. As a consequence, Sophocles has created a character that is a helpless victim of fate.