The Causes Of Extreme Action In Oedipus By Sophocles

Another example of Oedipus’ tendency to overreact and behave in excess is seen in his learning of the truth behind his origins. After a long series of extreme actions, he finally obtains this piece of knowledge he had pushed for so intently, Iocaste, his mother, his wife, were one and the same. Upon learning this, Oedipus as described by the Choragos, “burst in moaning …begging a sword, cursing the wife who was not his wife, the mother whose womb had carried his own children and himself.” (Sophocles 68). He “hurled his weight, as though wrenched out of himself, at the twin doors: the bolts gave, and he rushed in” (Sophocles 68). There he found her lifeless body. He weeps. Moments before, he sought a sword to take her life from her with force and violence. But upon seeing his wife, dead, his feeling change from one extreme to another. Wanting to kill Iocaste for her role in the unfortunate scenario is extreme in of itself, but changing from this view so quickly to one of mourning for his loss, indicates an underlying impulsivity and extreme nature to Oedipus’ character.
Shortly after Oedipus’ discovery of Iocaste’s body comes what may be Oedipus’ most extreme act of all: his self-mutilation. Oedipus “struck at his eyes – not once, but many times; …show more content…
His definition of virtue, the way to achieve happiness, man’s one complete, self-sufficient end, is the “mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency” (Aristotle 25). Evidently, reaching the mean is a thing of importance for Aristotle in matters of virtue. But beyond that, what makes a person considered virtuous? According to Aristotle, there is three different criterion that need to be met for person to be virtuous, “first, he must know [that his is doing virtuous actions]; second, he must decide on them, and decide on them for themselves; and, third, he must also do them from a firm and unchanging state” (Aristotle 22 line