Free Will In Sophocles Oedipus Rex

Around 430 B.C., an Athenian tragedian, Sophocles, wrote the play Oedipus Rex. Capturing the complexity of human consciousness, Sophocles pitted fate and free will against one another in order to make the tragic fall of Oedipus impactful to the audience by invoking a sense of pity and sadness for his character. It can be argued that in this play, individual free will instead of fate was the dominant factor that made Oedipus a tragic hero because of his sharp decline from beloved king to disgraced murderer. Fate can be defined in numerous ways, according to Sophocles; it had “terrible power. You cannot escape it by wealth or war. No fort will keep it out, no ships out run it.” (Antigone, Sophocles) This is relevant to Oedipus because when he …show more content…
Driven by his passion to find the murderer, Oedipus becomes frustrated with Tiresias, and in return Tiresias lashes out – slipping two future curses that Oedipus will fall victim to. “You are the curse, the corruption of the land” (400) Telling him in the simplest way possible that Oedipus is the murderer he is looking for, but Oedipus does not understand this because he is blinded by his anger. Tiresias then goes on state “The double lash of your mother and father’s curse will whip you from this land one day, their footfall treading you down in terror, darkness shrouding your eyes that now see the light!” (475-480) Brushing this off as an old mans tale; Oedipus carries on unaffected. Another example of fate finding its way to catch up with Oedipus is when he tells Jocasta, his wife, about his oracle at Delphi, stating he was “fated to couple with your mother. You will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see – you will kill your father, the one who gave you life!” (870-875) Justifying his decision to leave Corinth in order to prevent the prophesy from happening. Sophocles incorporates this line to further connect the audience …show more content…
What stopped you from tracking down the killer then and there?” (145-147) This forces the audience to admire Oedipus for acknowledging the faults of his people instead of claiming them to be as perfect as himself. This scene also fits Sophocles interpretation of free will perfectly because prior to the plague, no body had sought after the murder of Laius and so as a result, remained undetected. Another example of free will getting the best of Oedipus’ character is during the conversation between Oedipus and the Shepherd, when he is finally told the truth about his birth. “I must know it all, must see the truth at last! . . . Let it burst! Whatever will, whatever must! I must know my birth, no matter how common it may be—I must see my origins face to face.” (1170, 1185-1189) This scene is the cringe worthy moment for the audience in that they all admire Oedipus for being humble about his birth, no matter how low the social rank, all he cared to learn about was who he belonged to. It was no longer about finding the murderer, it was about finding himself—and in a sense, he found both a moment