The final revelation of Oedipus Tyrannus is easily understood as a revelation of Oedipus’s actions as sins, and but such an understanding ignores the true nature of these actions and the larger choice given to Oedipus when they are revealed. The radical nature of Oedipus’s threefold deed, the killing of his father, the solving of the sphinx’s riddle, and the union with his mother, might make Oedipus a sinner, but it might also make him a god. The Thebans, however, are not prepared to take on the responsibility that follows upon man becoming god, and Oedipus, in light of this, must interpret himself as a sinner. Thus, Oedipus must banish himself not because his is a sinner, but because he chooses to understand himself as a sinner for the sake
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Through this revelation, Oedipus comes to understand the radical nature of his threefold deed, but now, we are aware of another possible outcome. He might understand himself as a man who, although blameless through ignorance, sinned against nature, but he might instead come to understand the threefold deed as we have been considering it and revel in the profound implications it carries for his being, consummating his divinity. Of course, Oedipus takes the first path, for when his birth is finally revealed, he moans “O God! O no! I see it now! All clear! O Light! I will never look on you again!” (Oedipus Tyrannus 1188-1189). Here, we witness the pain of Oedipus as he looks upon the unnaturalness of his deeds for the first time and interprets them as sin, as something one would want “never to look on . . . again.” This interpretation is equivalent to a rejection of the deeds as founding, an indication, perhaps, of a soul not sure enough of itself to take full responsibility for the works it has wrought. It is no wonder then that he whimpers to the Thebans “For the love of God, hide me somewhere. Hide me away from this land,” for the only virtuous choice which remains to him is to remove his corruption from the city lest he corrupt it (Oedipus Tyrannus 1399-1400). The plague, as far as Oedipus can tell, does not ravage Thebes without
Through this revelation, Oedipus comes to understand the radical nature of his threefold deed, but now, we are aware of another possible outcome. He might understand himself as a man who, although blameless through ignorance, sinned against nature, but he might instead come to understand the threefold deed as we have been considering it and revel in the profound implications it carries for his being, consummating his divinity. Of course, Oedipus takes the first path, for when his birth is finally revealed, he moans “O God! O no! I see it now! All clear! O Light! I will never look on you again!” (Oedipus Tyrannus 1188-1189). Here, we witness the pain of Oedipus as he looks upon the unnaturalness of his deeds for the first time and interprets them as sin, as something one would want “never to look on . . . again.” This interpretation is equivalent to a rejection of the deeds as founding, an indication, perhaps, of a soul not sure enough of itself to take full responsibility for the works it has wrought. It is no wonder then that he whimpers to the Thebans “For the love of God, hide me somewhere. Hide me away from this land,” for the only virtuous choice which remains to him is to remove his corruption from the city lest he corrupt it (Oedipus Tyrannus 1399-1400). The plague, as far as Oedipus can tell, does not ravage Thebes without