Many readers believe that fate is what causes Oedipus’s downfall; however, it is his free actions that create his tragedy. Many readers believe that fate is what causes Oedipus’s downfall. The supporters of fate claim that no matter how Oedipus fights his fate he has no control of what will happen to him. One expert who presents a strong support for this argument is the author of Sophocles: An Interpretation, R. P. Winnington-Ingram. He stated that, “The fate of Oedipus, then, is ascribed to a malign superhuman power which had attended him from birth” (Winnington-Ingram 173). In this statement Winnington-Ingram is trying to say that ever since birth Oedipus’s fate was not his to control instead it was in the hands of a higher power. This could be proven by the fact that his parents decided to abide by an oracle and tossed him to the mountains to die at 3 days old.
Winnington-Ingram supports fate by …show more content…
The controversy can be found in the oracles because they only foretold that Oedipus would commit parricide and incest but never spoke of mutilation. When Winnington-Ingram first speaks of it he says that, “the unprophesied self-blinding was an act of independent will unmotivated by divine power” (176). Here he is clearly saying that the self-mutilation was not caused by anything other than Oedipus. He blames the event that happened on emotions by recalling the chorus exclaiming that, “Ah! Wretched one [Oedipus], what madness has possessed you?” (Sophocles 30). It was clear to the chorus, other scholars, and Winnington-Ingram that although there was a lot of powers at play the self-mutilation was caused my Oedipus going mad. By saying that Oedipus’ self-mutilation was not cause by the gods Winnington-Ingram reveals himself as a compatibilist because it means that he believes that freedom and determinism can co-exist (Smith, “Free
Winnington-Ingram supports fate by …show more content…
The controversy can be found in the oracles because they only foretold that Oedipus would commit parricide and incest but never spoke of mutilation. When Winnington-Ingram first speaks of it he says that, “the unprophesied self-blinding was an act of independent will unmotivated by divine power” (176). Here he is clearly saying that the self-mutilation was not caused by anything other than Oedipus. He blames the event that happened on emotions by recalling the chorus exclaiming that, “Ah! Wretched one [Oedipus], what madness has possessed you?” (Sophocles 30). It was clear to the chorus, other scholars, and Winnington-Ingram that although there was a lot of powers at play the self-mutilation was caused my Oedipus going mad. By saying that Oedipus’ self-mutilation was not cause by the gods Winnington-Ingram reveals himself as a compatibilist because it means that he believes that freedom and determinism can co-exist (Smith, “Free