Does Oedipus Deserve His Fate

In the famous tragedy by Sophocles, Oedipus the King, the selfless hero is met with a devastating end, leading readers and spectators to the ultimate question of the author’s work: was his fate truly inevitable? Oedipus finds himself entwined within a world where free will juxtaposes with the Greek belief of divine power guiding fate: the human has the ability to control his own destiny unless gods decide to intervene, whereupon all efforts to control or resist fate become futile. However Oedipus still believes he is acting freely by running from the city of Corinth to save whom he believed to be his parents but he subsequently runs into his true father, to who he then murders after a horrendous dispute. Unknowingly, the gods were guiding

Oedipus’ subconscious and the subconscious of those around him unknowingly bring Oedipus’ closer to his fate as the gods are manipulating what they think and how they act on these thoughts. The choir tells Oedipus to take an action that is already being done such as asking for the blind seer, Teiresias, “If you should inquire of this from you might find out more clearly” (Sophocles 436, 306-307). However, this act is being accomplished by both Creon and Oedipus without the choir’s input as Oedipus states, “On Creon’s word I have sent two messengers…” (Sophocles 436, 309). The second time they come to such a consensus is when Oedipus asks for the herdsman, to which the choir responds that he is already coming. They all are returning to the same agreement as to how to address the problem. Siberman goes on to say that “When the [consensus] is repeated for the third and final time… the coincidence manifest does not attest to the human capacity of knowledge, but rather the absolute priority of divine will.” Thus, although it may appear that Oedipus and those around him are fully gaining a well-thought understanding of what to do, what is actually being done is leading to Oedipus’ downfall as the gods are already manipulating thoughts and emotions to aid them in their path to him realizing the truth of his curse. Thus, regardless of any flaws in Oedipus’ character that should have been rectified or actions he could have done better, the gods would make it so that Oedipus will always come back to the same