Oedipus, king of Thebes, was destined to have two things happen to him: he was to murder his father and marry his mother with whom he’d have children. Despite his and others attempts to avoid this prophecy from coming true, unfortunately he was unable to avoid his fate. While he is guilty of actually doing the crimes he desperately tried to avoid, he is innocent of having malicious intent to commit the crimes or knowledge that he had actually committed them. To begin with, Oedipus never had any intention to carry out the crimes of patricide and incest, contrary to the beliefs of many modern day people and one particular neurologist. Oedipus didn’t know who his true parents were, as he was given to Polybus and Merope as a baby and believed that they were his birth parents; however, he soon was filled with doubt over his true parentage and sought the truth. As he tells Jocasta, “I went, without my parents’ knowledge, on a journey to Delphi. Phoebus sent me away no wiser than I came, but something else he showed me, sad and strange and terrible: That I was doomed to mate with my own mother, bring an abhorrent brood into the world; That I should kill the father who begat me. When I heard, I fled from Corinth …show more content…
When he killed Laius, he believed that it was simply a wealthy man on the side of the road who had decided to pick a fight with him that day. Also, he had no choice in marrying his mother, as, after he solved the riddle of the Sphinx, he was given the position of king of Thebes and Jocasta as his bride, both of which he accepted. Once they were married, they begun to have children so Oedipus would have an heir to take the throne after he died, the goal of all monarchs at that time and to this day. Thus, he was simply acting the way that any man in his position at that time period would
-not knowing it was his biological father- could not be avoided, his ignorance in a certain way absolves him of all blame. As for the "incest" matter, Oedipus is certainly not guilty of such a thing for it was Jocasta who promised to marry him in the first place, we can blame Jocasta for the downfall as much as we can blame Oedipus for it. Oedipus is certainly not guilty of anything.
When Oedipus was born, Jocasta and Laius heard a prophecy that their son would murder his father and sleep with his mother. They quickly sought to get rid of their newborn and, through the paths of a few messengers; he was given to the king and queen of Corinth. When Oedipus was growing up, he saw an oracle who told him of the very same prophecy and quickly fled the land of Corinth in fear of harming the ones he loved. Unbeknownst to him, on his journey, he still ended up killing his father, King Laius and marrying his own mother, Jocasta. Through a shepherd, Oedipus learns that King Laius and Jocasta are his biological parents. In the shock of learning what he had only recently started suspecting, Oedipus exclaims:
Even before his birth Laius and Jocasta have been told that their son's fate is to kill his father and marry his mother. They are determined to save themselves and decide that Oedipus must be killed before he is old enough to carry out the prophecy. This attempt to beat the gods immediately begins Oedipus' journey to ruin as he grows up in nearby Corinth thinking that his parents are King Polybus and Queen Meropé. By assuming Polybus and Meropé are his true parents Oedipus is in a situation where he can unknowingly kill his true father and marry his true mother. At the same time Jocasta and Laiu...
The great psychologist-philosopher Carl Jung was briefly a student of Freud. Because Jung felt that Freud's approach to psychoanalysis was by far too narrow, he broke off from his teachings, and made significant contributions to mythological criticism. Jung's greatest contribution was his theory of archetypes. His proposal of archetypes argues that there is one original pattern or model of all things of the same type. According to Jung, beneath the personal unconscious is a collective unconscious that is in the psychic inheritance of all humans. Jung thought of the collective unconscious as a sort of memory bank that stores images and ideas that humans have accumulated over the course of evolution. This theory of Jung's supported other theories that argues that humans are born with instincts. "Mind is not born as a tabula rasa [a clean slate]. Like the body, it has its pre-established individual definiteness; namely, forms of behaviour. They become manifest in the ever-recurring patterns of psychic functioning" (Guerin 175). It is important to realize that archetypes are not inherited ideas or patterns of thought, but rather that they are inclinations to respond in similar ways to certain stimuli (Guerin 175-178). One predominant archetype within mythological criticism is the sacrificial scapegoat. In Sophocles' play Oedipus Tyrannus, the archetype of the sacrificial scapegoat is carried out by Oedipus as he solves the impossible riddle of the sphinx, delivers Thebes from a horrible plague, and then takes his mother's hand in marriage.
Oedipus the king is a play about a couple Laius and Jocasta who has angered the gods because they don't believe in fearing or respecting the gods. the gods set a prophesy upon their unborn son that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother. Not fearing the prophecy they had Oedipus, and gave him to a shepherd to kill but he ended up alive. the question is who's to blame when it comes to a chance to prevent his prophecy from being completed.
The two crimes being patricide and the other incest. Although the fact that he may have not been able to escape these crimes shows a glimpse of innocence. It is likely true in the eyes of a spectator is that Oedipus committed these crimes not by any reason other than free will. Murdering his own father Laius constitutes free will of its own as he was not forced into doing it. That being true what are the coincidences that he would also end up marrying his own mother as well. Both coincide directly after another as though it was pre-determined by some other source of power. It is possible that fate, light and darkness, and knowledge will develop the potential of innocence and are major factors in this
Oedipus is guilty because, despite knowing the prophecy that he will commit parricide and incest, he yet kills an elderly gentleman and sleeps with an elderly women. The choice was his, and this accounts for his guilt.
To destroy Oedipus, the gods granted the power of prophecy to oracles that delivered these prophecies to Laius and Jocasta. As a result, they kill their child to get rid of him and his terrible prophecies. Unfortunately, these prophecies came true because Oedipus didn’t know his real parents. If he had known his real parents, he wouldn’t have killed his father and married his mother.
It seems that fate’s reach stretches only so far and that many Oedipus’ decisions were his own. Oedipus may have been destined to share an incestuous relationship with his mother and to kill his father, but the other aspects of his life were a result of his choices. While every path led in one direction, there remained paths from which to choose. As a result, Oedipus maintained the freedom to choose how his life would end. He could have merely accepted his banishment, leaving to lead a meaningful life elsewhere. Instead, he blinded himself, thus ensuring a life of pain and suffering.
Ironically, had he not been ignorant to the identities of his parents before leaving Corinth, Oedipus wouldn 't have killed Laius, and therefore couldn 't marry his mother; also Oedipus is blissful not knowing the truth. In a conversation between Oedipus and his wife/mother Jocasta, Oeidpus reflects on his day, still wondering more; as he speaks with his wife, Oedipus slowly begins to put pieces together and powerfully comes to the realization that he is the corruption which he has cursed. "Strange, hearing you just now... my mind wandered, my thoughts racing back and forth. (Sophocles, 293)" This marks the point where Oedipus conveys that he is putting the pieces of his prophecy together (the prophecy called for him to murder his father, and marry his mother). His mind 's wandering and thoughts ' racing relate to his actions, wandering away from his home to escape marrying his mother, and hastily killing his father unbeknownst to him. "Oh no no, I think I 've just called down a dreadful curse upon myself - I simply didn 't know! (Sophocles, 294)" Oedipus stutters again, this time on the word "no," indicating his bewilderment when he sees his ego is being tarnished. He had made up a curse to
Oedipus did kill a man, and although he was not aware of his identity at the time, it could still be argued that he is not innocent because he was aware that a prophecy existed and he should not have killed anyone. In the context of an Ancient Greek audience, his act was justifiable, however reading this play in a modern context one must consider the culture of violence in Ancient Greece that could condone such an act. Oedipus’s act in the beginning of the play of cursing whoever Laius’s murderer was to “wear out his life/in misery to miserable doom!” (248-249) by cursing Laius’s murderer, he did curse himself and one could argue that by making this curse, he did somewhat bring upon himself all the tragedy at the end of the play. Jocasta is also not entirely innocent in that she did try to kill her child, which would have cleared her of any guilt in regards to the prophecy but for human morality raises more questions, and in trying to kill her child to prevent the prophecy she would defy the gods, which does not have positive
A special attribute of Greek tragedy is that the central character is known to have a tragic imperfection that contribute to the fall of the character. In the play Oedipus Rex this characteristic is not an exception. Nevertheless, until what point was Oedipus responsible for his own downfall? There are many theories that can give an answer to this question. Was it destiny or a manipulation of the gods? Or was it a punishment for his actions to his parents? Was anyone else responsible for his downfall too (Jocasta, Laius)? In this essay I will prove that even though he is not the only one to blame for his downfall, he is the major person responsible for his ruin.
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
“…[Oedipus] never saw, [n]or knew what he did when he became [his kids] father.”(Sophocles, 1485-1486). The gods are not only punishing Oedipus of the crimes of his parents, but also Oedipus’s kids since “[t]he scandal [will] cling to all [his] children.”(Sophocles, 1494). Not only did Oedipus have to suffer the loss of sight and his mother, but also the knowledge that “..for [his children]; [their] days, can only end in fruitless maidenhood,”(Sophocles, 1498-1499), all because he had no control over his fate, to control the actions the gods had set for him. Though Jocasta’s and Laius’s children and grandchildren had nothing to do with their sins, the god’s had punished both generations. The gods were not punishing Oedipus for conducting treasonous acts with his mother and father but instead because they had wanted to make a fool of Oedipus which is why they had him decree to the citizens of Thebes that for the person who murdered Lauis “[their] fate will be nothing worse [t]han banishment.”(Sophocles, 228-229). The gods knew that Oedipus would fulfill his fate since he was born, which leads one to believe that they must have also known that Oedipus would
In both the current era and the time of the ancient Greeks Sophocles’ play Oedipus Tyrannus is seen as the quintessential model of Greek Tragedy. This is due to the intricate questions of morality that are masterfully woven into the literature and the fact that “perhaps no classical Greek play that has stimulated as much critical discussion” (Harris and Platzner Classical Mythology: Images and Insights, p.648). One of the dominant arguments the tragedy generates is whether Oedipus is responsible for the abhorrent crimes of patricide and incest. The answer to which is yes. To be human is to have choice and it is evident throughout the play that Oedipus’s reckless decisions are to blame for the violations against his parents. Due to Oedipus’s choices concerning his interactions with the oracle at Delphi, his shameful attack of a man on the road to Thebes, and predominantly his allowance of stubborn pride and blindness to overshadow the truth make him alone accountable for his crimes.