Introduction: The Inescapable Fate of Oedipus
“Look upon that last day always. Count no mortal happy till he has passed the final limit of his life secure from pain” (Sophocles 1651-1853). Oedipus’s tragedy could be abridged simply like this but reading through the play in its entirety induces an obligatory and profound catharsis. Oedipus the King follows the story of how the Theban king unknowingly killed his father and married his mother when he thought he had escaped his appalling fate. He was convinced he could avoid the prophecy by fleeing the home of his presumed parents; ironically enough, this move would be his own undoing. He inadvertently went on to kill his father during a trivial fight at a crossroad and after becoming king of Thebes after liberating the kingdom from a sphinx, took his mother’s hand in marriage. As such it can be certainly said that no one is truly happy until they die. At the start of the play, Oedipus may have found peace of mind and glory, but once he realized he had unintentionally fulfilled his destiny and was the cause of Thebes’ grief, he couldn’t stand to look at himself anymore. This accurately illustrates Oedipus as a tragic hero because he tries to do good but is overpowered by his fate, has tragic flaws that lead to his downfall, and suffers a pitiful, unreasonable punishment.
Oedipus's Righteous Actions and Failed Struggle with Fate
First of all, Oedipus is undoubtedly a tragic hero as seen in his attempted righteous actions and failed struggle with fate. Greek tragedies will frequently set the scene with a prologue that gives context and important details to understand the play better, and Oedipus the King is no exception. As the Background of Oedipus the King describes, the Theban royal lineage became cursed after Cadmus, founder of Thebes, killed Apollo’s favorite snake. Generations later, Laius, king of Thebes, and his queen, Jocasta, had a son they soon abandoned on Mount Cithaeron after discovering his horrendous fate. However, he does not get left out to die but rather brought to King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth who adopts him as their son and name “Oedipus” for his swollen feet. Though he grew up well, he kept hearing disheartening rumors he may not be Polybus’s true son and went to consult the oracle, “But before he could ask his question, the priestess Pythia drove him away from Apollo’s shrine declaring that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified at the prophecy, Oedipus fled Corinth, the home of his supposed parents, in an attempt to avoid fulfilling the prophecy” (Burton and Corcoran 5). Yet this attempt would prove futile. Oedipus thought by leaving Corinth he could escape the prophecy, but he actually ran closer to his fate, towards Thebes. He is genuinely trying to avoid tragedy but is just immensely overpowered by Apollo’s fate for him. An obscure detail that supports this is how he got rescued; he was pitied by Laius’s servant and handed to a herdsman who then gave it to Corinth royalty.
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It would make sense for Apollo to prompt mercy onto the servant, so Oedipus could fulfill his destiny. If not for the god’s doing, Oedipus might not have survived, showing how his tragic fate prevailed his entire life. As king of Thebes, Oedipus is determined to find the murderer of the previous king, Laius, to end the adversity of Thebes and so has condemned them to a miserable life since they have not revealed themself. Nevertheless, when Teiresias, the honorable prophet, revealed that Oedipus was the culprit, he totally disregarded him and pushed the idea that Teiresias and Creon were scheming to take his throne. Though once Jocasta told Oedipus the details she knew about the murder, Oedipus finally acknowledges that Teiresias’s prophecy could be the truth, “O God, I think I have called curses on myself in ignorance” (Sophocles 827). By this point, Oedipus has been incessantly investigating Laius’s murder and seeking aid from oracles, depicting his desire to do well. Although terribly misleading, prophecies told by oracles always come true. This shows a sense of moral ambiguity in Oedipus too. He is diligent in his efforts and obviously still believes Polybus and Merope are his real parents, as seen by how he resisted Teiresias’s visions, but now he starts to suspect himself. If the prophecy is true, all his hard work would prove to be a double-edged sword; he would have to exile himself to dispel the plague or live in ignorance and have everyone else suffer. Essentially, no matter what “good” Oedipus does, he will be forever tormented by his fate.
The Hamartia: Oedipus's Tragic Flaws
Truly what makes Oedipus a tragic hero is his hamartia that causes a catastrophic fall from grace. When Oedipus first called for Teiresias to find the pollution haunting Thebes, he did not expect the blind prophet to be so gutsy enough to not even tell him anything but rather say he wishes to not bring pain upon them both. Out of a prideful temper, Oedipus dishonors and taunts Teiresias’s skills and blindness which stirs him to disclose Oedipus, the Theban king whom everyone reveres, is the murderer of Laius. Oedipus absolutely refuses to believe Teiresias, instead believing Teiresias and Creon are spreading evil rumors about him to steal his throne, and confronts Creon upon his arrival, “Have you so brazen-faced daring that you venture in my house although you are proved manifestly the murderer of that man, and though you tried, openly, highway robbery of my own crown? For God’s sake, tell me what you saw in me, what cowardice or what stupidity, made you lay a plot like this against me?” (Sophocles 598-602). Creon then defends himself, saying he receives all the honor and power of the king without the fear, so it would be ridiculous to take Oedipus’ throne unless he wanted more work for himself, thereby also determining Oedipus’s tragic flaw of poor judgment. If Oedipus were simply not so arrogant, reckless, or short-tempered to lash out at anyone who defies him, he would realize the truth much quicker.
The Downfall: Oedipus's Catastrophic Fall from Grace
His failure to believe their words merely drags his downfall on and makes his fate only more tragic since he will learn and have to live with the knowledge of his heinous crimes. Though Oedipus’ accusation towards his eternally faithful comrade shows not solely poor judgment but hubris since he believes Creon’s attempt to usurp him was absurd and foolish. After all, he was the only one who could answer the Sphinx’s riddle, so he believes no one can trick him. However, after realizing the truth, Oedipus soon finds out he’s not as clever as he thinks. Howbeit, at this point in the play, Oedipus still believes Creon was plotting against him and does not back down at all, intensifying his charges by stating he will kill Creon for his own interests. Disgusted by Oedipus’s allegations, Creon leaves only after maintaining his innocence once more and retorts, “I see you sulk in yielding and you’re dangerous when you are out of temper; natures like yours are justly heaviest from themselves to bear” (Sophocles 751-753). This is significant because Creon is Oedipus’s best brother and even he is voicing out against Oedipus. Oedipus’s rash and quick temper spring from his hubris which is one of his tragic flaws. Not only that, but Oedipus’s hubris also seems to “blind” him from the truth, or “sight”. He gets very destructive when he is furious or defied as seen by how he damned the culprit of Laius’s murder or his treatment of Teiresias when he was just trying to keep life pleasant for both men. Creon also insights that this hamartia is heavy to bear, almost as if foreshadowing this heaviness will bring Oedipus down. Without his tragic flaws, Oedipus would not be a tragic hero because these woeful faults of hubris and poor judgment pull him from fortune to tragedy.
Even so, it is equally important to recognize the dismal, ghastly fate Oedipus must suffer, caused by his own hamartia and Apollo’s prophecy, as a reason why he is clearly a tragic hero. Now, Oedipus has realized the prophecy has been fulfilled; he killed Laius, his real father, at the crossroads during a trivial fight and married Jocasta, his real mother, even breeding children with her. A messenger comes and speaks of the Theban king’s miserable fate; specifically, the ill that transpired in the nobles’ home. Jocasta committed suicide by hanging herself above their cursed bed; Oedipus charged in but could only cry out in pain before cutting the noose to drop his queen’s lifeless body. Terribly anguished, “[Oedipus] tore the brooches- the gold chased brooches fastening her robe- away from her and lifting them up high dashed them on his own eyeballs, shrieking out such things as they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me! Dark eyes, now in the days to come look on forbidden faces, do not recognize those whom you long for with such imprecations he struck his eyes again and yet again with the brooches. And the bleeding eyeballs gushed and stained his beard- no sluggish oozing drops but a black rain and bloody hail poured down” (Sophocles 1388-1400). The chorus immediately pities Oedipus and wonders what madness or evil coerced him to do this horrid thing to himself.
The Punishment: Oedipus's Self-Inflicted Suffering
They even say they cannot look at him for his appearance frightens them too much. Although this is a characteristic of tragedy, that the punishment is exaggerated compared to the crime, it also shows a greater quality of Oedipus. He did not choose to end his suffering right there and then; instead, he chose to blind himself and live with shame and travesty. Oedipus thereby acknowledges that his hubris and poor judgment have obscured him from the truth and that he can truly “see” since he is blind now. His very much pitiful state does not stop the chorus from asking exactly why he has done this to himself, mentioning the misfortune he receives and the burden he holds is already great enough. Though Oedipus does not falter and answers, “It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, that brought this bitter bitterness, my sorrows to completion. But the hand that struck me was none but my own. Why should I see whose vision showed me nothing sweet to see?” (Sophocles 1450-1455). At this point, Oedipus has completely realized Apollo’s prophesy to be true, accepting the tragedy that has been bestowed upon him. Though after finding out the truth, he does not see his wife and children as a sweetness in his life, instead they now represent how the prophecy has been fulfilled.
His family is forever cursed by incest, and he has fallen from both grace and his throne. Apollo had decided such an awful life for him that it came to the point blindness was better than seeing how horrible it was. Ultimately, Oedipus’s hubris had been that he thought he knew everything and could defy the gods. He has taken responsibility for his ignorance by giving himself a punishment he deems “reasonable”: blindness. Oedipus’s tragic fate offers a crisis of feeling and a catharsis. The severe approach to gouging out his eyes was excessively grisly and dreadful, eliciting feelings of pity and fear in the audience. However, once Oedipus accepted his fate, the audience feels relieved he is no longer suffering as much. Overall, the pitiful, unreasonable punishment of Oedipus and its horrifying yet uplifting outcome defines him to be a tragic hero.
Conclusion: The Lessons from Oedipus's Tragedy
In brief, Oedipus is absolutely a tragic hero. He has gone out of his way to both flee Corinth to escape the prophecy and find the murderer of King Laius to stop the plague terrorizing Thebes, which ironically pushed him closer to his ill fate, and later realizes the truth. However, he wouldn’t have suffered so terribly if not for his tragic flaws. His hubris can be blamed for making him too reckless and fiery when it seems like the whole world is working against him. Teiresias had exposed Oedipus to be the murderer and his tragic fate lying ahead, but he failed to listen or even deliberate the matter because he thought too highly of himself to be the culprit. Even Creon, his trusted brother, and advisor, told him he is adverse in his temper and foreshadows it will drag him down. It cannot be forgotten Oedipus’s excessively grim and depressing punishment he chooses to ride out for the rest of his life either. It is despairing the fact that he will be all alone and live perpetually tormented by his fate. His children cannot support him since they remind him too much of the prophecy; actually, nobody can do anything because of the curses he put upon the culprit before that they will be exiled and no one can acknowledge them.
What is comforting though is the fact that Oedipus accepts the tragedy and can now “see” through his blindness. From this, it is important to emphasize the lesson to be taken from Oedipus the King that many things are out of our control and that is truly all right. Everyone has experienced some panic or hopelessness from feeling out of control of their life, but not everyone has tried to challenge this response. An individual merely needs the courage to overcome these situations and ultimately decide to let go or accept them. In how Oedipus’s tragic flaws made him lose himself, the individual must hold the proper values too. Thus, the values of benevolence, humbleness, and wisdom are integral to helping lead one’s life to success as well as identifying the means to improve their circumstances for the better. As Creon said to Oedipus, “Do not seek to be master in everything, for the things you master did not follow you throughout your life” (Sophocles 1846-1847).
Work Cited
- Corcoran, J., & Beers, B. F. (1995). Prentice Hall literature (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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