Fate Vs free will in Oedipus Rex
There has been an inconclusive debate about whether man has had throughout the history of mankind a sort of free will to decide on his life and what he could do about it or has he been enslaved by some divine forces that acted upon his own destiny.
That very debate seems to be applicable also to Oedipus whose actions were a mere subject of discussion as to whether they were predetermined by the Gods or were they a kind of materialization of a free and conscious will.
On these grounds, we can argue that the presence of prophecies and the oracles in Oedipus the king led to an assumption based on a divine intervention to direct Oedipus actions and his deeds.
Further evidence supporting this idea lies in the fact that it was the oracle in Delphi that announced to Oedipus he was bound …show more content…
Through his persisting efforts to learn the truth, he revealed the true nature of his terrible deeds. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus said that “deeds were fated” but how you respond to your fate is a matter of free will.
At the heart of the drama, Oedipus believes in his own power to rid the people of Thebes from the plague prevailing over their city. His free will will be evaluated as he faces and takes up challenges.
It is true that Sophocles himself believed in the combination and the duality of both free will and fate. However, man does not take a decision which might be against his own destiny or fate. All the tragedy in Oedipus does not lie in killing the father and marrying the mother. It goes beyond that. It’s about resisting both fate and the Gods. What is more the curse Oedipus was holding later disappeared as he learnt from his mistakes and how to accept one’s fate or destiny tragedy was to conclude by alerting the Greeks that respect towards the Gods was the only way to achieve happiness. Unlike Oedipus who broke the rule and had to suffer terrible spiritual strain due to his unintended deeds but also void of any
There has been an inconclusive debate about whether man has had throughout the history of mankind a sort of free will to decide on his life and what he could do about it or has he been enslaved by some divine forces that acted upon his own destiny.
That very debate seems to be applicable also to Oedipus whose actions were a mere subject of discussion as to whether they were predetermined by the Gods or were they a kind of materialization of a free and conscious will.
On these grounds, we can argue that the presence of prophecies and the oracles in Oedipus the king led to an assumption based on a divine intervention to direct Oedipus actions and his deeds.
Further evidence supporting this idea lies in the fact that it was the oracle in Delphi that announced to Oedipus he was bound …show more content…
Through his persisting efforts to learn the truth, he revealed the true nature of his terrible deeds. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus said that “deeds were fated” but how you respond to your fate is a matter of free will.
At the heart of the drama, Oedipus believes in his own power to rid the people of Thebes from the plague prevailing over their city. His free will will be evaluated as he faces and takes up challenges.
It is true that Sophocles himself believed in the combination and the duality of both free will and fate. However, man does not take a decision which might be against his own destiny or fate. All the tragedy in Oedipus does not lie in killing the father and marrying the mother. It goes beyond that. It’s about resisting both fate and the Gods. What is more the curse Oedipus was holding later disappeared as he learnt from his mistakes and how to accept one’s fate or destiny tragedy was to conclude by alerting the Greeks that respect towards the Gods was the only way to achieve happiness. Unlike Oedipus who broke the rule and had to suffer terrible spiritual strain due to his unintended deeds but also void of any