Judgement In Oedipus The King

Written by the legendary Greek mastermind Sophocles, Oedipus Rex is a tragic play involving prophecies, mythology, and certain doom. Along with that, many judgments are cast upon the characters and it is up to the reader to decide which are sound, and which are fallacies. To be sure that the reader is clear on what judgement is, the Oxford English Dictionary declares that a judgement “is the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.” In his argument against Oedipus, Kreon states that “You can not judge unless you know the facts”. (insert citation). Therefore, it can also be said that ‘One can not judge wisely unless they know the facts’. This seems like a reasonable assertion, since it avoids prejudice and allows …show more content…
Iokaste is a very strong indicator of this notion, as time and time again she is approached with clear evidence supporting her husband’s guilt, but fails to recognize what it amounts to. Firstly, she tries to soothe Oedipus’ worry when he tells her that he too killed a bandwagon at the crossroads years ago. To any sound person, this would be highly distressing information despite the eyewitness’ testimony. Even if said man claimed that there were multiple people, having the details of both so closely linked is incredibly daunting for any case against someone. Iokaste even tells Oedipus that she would not “Waste a second thought on any”, in regards to Oedipus’ determination to hear the eyewitness make his testimony in person. While he seeks validation for the evidence, Iokaste chooses to look the other way. Shortly after this discussion comes a messenger with news for Oedipus: his father has died of old age. This would appear to be good news, for the prophecy stated that the murderer (and Oedipus) would kill their own father. Iokaste is delighted, and she quickly directs the messenger to tell Oedipus of this news, for it will put an end to his conundrum. The messenger does so and a much-needed sigh of relief is given until he goes on to explain that Oedipus is not actually Polybos’ son. Iokaste once again writes this off, scoffing with the words that “This talk is a waste of time”. (citation) Evidently, she is only interested in news if it disproves that her husband is not the murderer, condemning the facts that would suggest otherwise. The final blow delivered is the one that marks her grave, in which she declares that Oedipus can not be the killer because she bound her son by the ankles and left him for dead. It is already known that Oedipus was adopted, but somehow throughout all of their years together she did not notice the scars