How Pride Effects Free Will and Fate in The Theban Plays:
The Theban Plays by Sophocles, an ancient Greek playwright, are a series of plays about the struggle between free will and fate and the hubris, or pride, expressed by the characters. These themes outline the lives of Oedipus, his children, and Creon over the expanse of three plays. The tragedies that befall the characters are caused either by free will or fate, and these two items are the spark for plenty of controversy over which one has power over the other, and why. It has become apparent that pride affects the amount of free will or fate that one is perceived to have by both themselves and by others, because they are seen by themselves to have great, seeming infallible, power, they …show more content…
After his banishment from Thebes, Oedipus’ sons fought over the throne. In this situation, their pride was expressed through their point of view that the throne was rightfully theirs and not the other brother’s. Polynices attempted to approach Oedipus, but Oedipus was not having any of it. He knew the brothers were selfish and prideful along with how they were fighting for the throne back in Thebes, so he cursed them himself to kill each other. From there, it seems that the fate is carried out, but if it was not for each of the brothers’ pride, their fate might not have been carried out. In their situation, it seems that fate is usually chosen by free will of the characters, but was this true for Oedipus as …show more content…
The very one who said to Oedipus “You display your spleen” (Antigone, 26). Yes, that is Creon. This one comes as much of a surprise to many, how Creon’s character changed drastically from not wanting the throne in Oedipus Rex to being the all powerful king in Antigone. He was the character that seemed to have the most free will. He controlled what happened to Antigone, sentencing her to death by cave, which in turn killed his son and his wife as well.
The stories of Oedipus, his sons, and Creon differ widely. While Oedipus was not really determined by free will, Creon’s, Eteocles’, and Polynices’ seem like they were. So which one wins out, free will or fate? In the case of all these characters, their pride strips away their perceived free will, even when they lose it.
So it has become apparent that the more pride there is in the characters, almost always meant a false “free will” to which their demise was given, while the less pride in characters, like Oedipus in Oedipus at Colonus, seems to have no free will at all. Pride in characters affects our perception of them and how much free will they harbor, and this, dear readers, is what the demise of Oedipus, Polynices, Eteocles, and Creon is all centered
The Theban Plays by Sophocles, an ancient Greek playwright, are a series of plays about the struggle between free will and fate and the hubris, or pride, expressed by the characters. These themes outline the lives of Oedipus, his children, and Creon over the expanse of three plays. The tragedies that befall the characters are caused either by free will or fate, and these two items are the spark for plenty of controversy over which one has power over the other, and why. It has become apparent that pride affects the amount of free will or fate that one is perceived to have by both themselves and by others, because they are seen by themselves to have great, seeming infallible, power, they …show more content…
After his banishment from Thebes, Oedipus’ sons fought over the throne. In this situation, their pride was expressed through their point of view that the throne was rightfully theirs and not the other brother’s. Polynices attempted to approach Oedipus, but Oedipus was not having any of it. He knew the brothers were selfish and prideful along with how they were fighting for the throne back in Thebes, so he cursed them himself to kill each other. From there, it seems that the fate is carried out, but if it was not for each of the brothers’ pride, their fate might not have been carried out. In their situation, it seems that fate is usually chosen by free will of the characters, but was this true for Oedipus as …show more content…
The very one who said to Oedipus “You display your spleen” (Antigone, 26). Yes, that is Creon. This one comes as much of a surprise to many, how Creon’s character changed drastically from not wanting the throne in Oedipus Rex to being the all powerful king in Antigone. He was the character that seemed to have the most free will. He controlled what happened to Antigone, sentencing her to death by cave, which in turn killed his son and his wife as well.
The stories of Oedipus, his sons, and Creon differ widely. While Oedipus was not really determined by free will, Creon’s, Eteocles’, and Polynices’ seem like they were. So which one wins out, free will or fate? In the case of all these characters, their pride strips away their perceived free will, even when they lose it.
So it has become apparent that the more pride there is in the characters, almost always meant a false “free will” to which their demise was given, while the less pride in characters, like Oedipus in Oedipus at Colonus, seems to have no free will at all. Pride in characters affects our perception of them and how much free will they harbor, and this, dear readers, is what the demise of Oedipus, Polynices, Eteocles, and Creon is all centered