The Function of Fate in “Oedipus Rex”
For the Greeks, `Fate` means the foretelling of what will happen. It is the essential part of Greek tragedies and
epics and in the case of `Oedipus Rex` it is not otherwise. As it is shown that the characters of the Greek tragedies are
free but their freedom is tied with destiny. In the play `Oedipus Rex` fate plays an important role by controlling the
destiny of the characters. It controls the characters, Jocasta, Laius and Oedipus, and pre-determines the major events
in their lives. But in carrying out the plot Sophocles has shown that the characters are not altogether puppets in the
hands of fate. As they are presented on the stage, they are free agents, freely choosing various actions.
Long before the birth of Oedipus, it was announced from the Delphi that he would kill his father and marry
his mother. All human beings through their kindness, intellect, inquiry and all other activities acted only to fulfill this
prophecy. Here every character tries to trick the fate but ultimately realizes that the fate cannot be tricked. As we
have seen pity, cruelty, foresight and bravery have all been employed in trying to circumvent fate and have actually
themselves woven into the web of fate. The cruel decision of Laius and Jocasta to expose the babe, the pity of the
Herdsman who found it, the decision of Oedipus to give up his life as a king’s son by leaving Corinth- all have played
their part in bringing about the fulfillment of the fate.
The fate controls the character, Jocasta. Jocasta knew what the oracle had prophesied and went on to bear
Laius’s child and then attempted to get round the consequences of the fate. She has even been willing to kill the child
to forestall the horror of what he may do. She makes her decision and commits herself to a course of action which
brings her doom upon her.
The fate also seals the destiny of the character Laius. He did everything to prevent the fate which had been
pronounced by the Delphi. He chained and handed over the child to a servant who passed it to a Corinthian shepherd,
who passed the baby to the Corinthian king. The child grew up as the son of Polybus and Merope, the king and queen
of Corinth. Subsequently the child, Oedipus killed his father, Laius fulfilling the prophecy of the Oracle.
The fate also has the contribution in bringing about the tragedy in the life of Oedipus. He learnt the terrible
prediction concerning him from the oracle and like his parents tried his utmost to avert such a fate. He fled from
Corinth, determined never to set eyes on his supposed father and mother as long as they lived. Unfortunately, on the
way of his journey, he killed his father, king Laius, unknowingly. He also married the king’s widow. Jocasta, his real
mother, after saving the city Thebes, from a frightful monster, Sphinx, who was causing a lot of destruction. So, the
unavoidable fate has made Oedipus do two horrible crimes, killing his father and marrying his mother.
The occurrences which bring about the tragedy in the lives of Laius, Jocasta and Oedipus are the work of fate.
All these characters performed the disastrous acts as a direct result of their efforts to escape the cruel fate which the
oracle at Delphi had communicated to them. They are informed in advance that they will become the victims of certain
shocking events. They take whatever measures they think of to avert those events but things turn out exactly as they
had been foretold by the oracle.
According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must belong to a well-known family and his downfall is due to his error
or hamartia. In this respect, Oedipus as a tragic hero does not meet the criterion. His downfall is fate- bound. Sooner
or later, he must fall from his position. It can be argued that his inquisition nature is responsible for his downfall.
But it is hard to say whether his inquisitive nature had originated, if the gods would have not sent a plague in
the city Thebes and caused the search for the killer of the king. So, in the downfall of Oedipus, we see the humbling
of a great man by the fate or gods. This treatment is not deserved by Oedipus. It is not a punishment for insolence nor
it is due to any fault of judgment in man. The gods display their power because they must . Now it is vain to ask why
Oedipus is punished fir sins of which he had no knowledge. Man may not cross question the gods and Oedipus has no
such right.
But the argument has its other side. Oedipus is not a flawless person. He has many faults in his character. He is rash,
hot-tempered, hasty in forming judgments, easily provoked and very much inquisitive. Not all of his acts are predetermined. He is a free agent freely choosing a series of actions which lead to his own ruin. The oracle’s prediction
was unconditional; it did not say that if Oedipus did such and such a thing, he would kill his father and marry his
mother. Oedipus does many things to evade his fate, but unfortunately instead of delaying his acts precipitated his
downfall. He failed to understand (blinded by the over-confidence) that not all difficulties are riddles to be solved by
the application of pure intellect but that some are mysteries not to be solved at all.
Considering all the facts, we can say that Oedipus is neither a free agent nor a mere victim of fate. The major events
of his life are determined by fate, but his own acts such as fleeing from Corinth, killing an old man, marrying an aged
woman, without knowing his whole identity, showing over-confidence and milking the shepherd for information all
have contributed in precipitating the disaster.
# Oedipus Rex as a Tragedy
Oedipus Rex is an ancient Greek tragedy. Aristotle mentioned Oedipus Rex as an ideal tragedy in his famous book
“Poetics”.
According to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, King Oedipus was the best illustration as it clearly depicted the downfall of
a heroic king who saved Thebes from the calamity of Sphinx to committing patricide. King Oedipus’s unwitting sins
was the cause of his ruin, due to his unwillingness to accept his fate. When all the truth and questions that King
Oedipus seeks for was answered, it led him to destruction such that he gouges his eyes out and intent to be exiled
from Thebes. King Oedipus’s suffering has thus, return harmony to it citizens and arouses reader’s pity and fear.
Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished
with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action,
not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.
A tragedy’s storyline must consist of a single, grand, and comprehensive action. Aristotle valued the plot of
Oedipus Rex very highly. Sophocles handled the plot of Oedipus Rex very proficiently. Every single incident in the plot
of this play arises very logically out of the one that has gone before. According to Aristotle concept of tragedy, there
should be no deletion of incidents. Each part of the play must contribute to the finishing tragic consequences and
outcome. “Oedipus Rex” starts when people of Thebes are suffering due to a mysterious sickness. Oedipus, the King
of Thebes attempts to find the key of the problem which ultimately reveals many things. Thus, with searching for the
answers, middle of the plot leads it towards end. The plot has a proper end, with no other event but a tragic finish.
Aristotle points out that metaphors are the most valuable form of language in a tragedy. The main metaphor
depicted in the play “Oedipus Rex” is that of ‘vision’ and ‘blindness’. The king thinks he sees all but, he is blind to the
truth. Unluckily, the only one who can see the truth is the blind seer Teiresias. Oedipus initiates the play able to see
but is blind and ends the play blind but able to see.
According to Aristotelian concept of tragedy, a good tragedy will arouse pity and fear in its viewers. It causes
the audience to experience a feeling of catharsis. According to Aristotle, it is the aesthetic purpose of tragedy.
In Oedipus Rex, there are many events when we feel pity. We feel pity for the infant Oedipus whose parents want him
to be killed. Then, we feel pity both for Oedipus and Laius. Oedipus kills his father unknowingly. The revelation of the
truth of Oedipus’ and Jocasta marriage also arouse pity. After this, when Jocasta hangs herself to death and Oedipus
blinds himself also provoke pity in us. We also feel misfortune for the poor daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta.
As far as fear is concerned, we also feel fear at many incidents. The fatal clash between Oedipus and his father,
king Laius makes us frightened. The monster- sphinx also make us terrified. After this, when Jocasta and Oedipus
realize their sins, we are so scared about the next steps of them.
Aristotle also discussed the characteristics of an ideal tragic hero. According to him, an ideal tragic hero must
of nobility. An ideal tragic hero should possess some major character flaw which leads him to his fall from joy and
supremacy. Oedipus’ mistake is made unknowingly. He killed his father at the crossroads. There is no way for him to
avoid his fate. The tragic hero from Oedipus the King by Sophocles clearly embodies the Aristotelian idea. Oedipus
possesses the hamartia expected of a tragic hero as well as a noble ancestry.
Oedipus Rex is a perfect Greek tragedy as per necessities of “Poetics”. It includes all the elements of
Aristotelian theory of tragedy. This play consists of perfect tragic plot as defined in Aristotle’s definition of tragedy.
Oedipus, the king, is also a perfect example of a tragic hero. Hence, it includes all the elements which is necessary to
arouse pity and fear- main function of an ideal tragedy.
# Oedipus Rex – Tragic Hero
Oedipus, the main character of the drama, is a great king with ideal traits in his individual personality also; but
he is tragic due to a tragic flaw in terms of his moral disposition. That mixture makes us have the tragic experience of
catharsis at the end of the drama when all the good of Oedipus is 'wasted' in his struggle against the bad.
In his struggle against the evil of his life, written by his fate, he invites the very doom he has always struggled
to escape from.
The name of Oedipus, which means "swell foot" in Greek, comes from his swollen feet. Oedipus is that ill-fated
tragic character whose parents had to throw him away on the third day of his birth, because it was told that he would
kill his father and marry his mother. He is that tragic man who was unfortunately pitied by the shepherd who was
supposed to throw him in the mountains of Cithaeron. And instead of "dying that fortunate little death", he was given
to the shepherd of another king Polybus. He got that name and the terrible, tragic mark on his swollen feet because
of the skewer that his parents had used to pin his feet together before throwing him. And since he was destined to kill
his father, he grew up in Corinth and ran away from there, on hearing the rumors of his evil fate, precisely to come to
Thebes, kill his father and marry his mother, without knowing that he was running into the doom he thought he was
escaping from.
King Oedipus can be taken as a typical hero of classical tragedies. Aristotle, the first philosopher to theorize
the art of drama, obviously studied Oedipus and based his observation about the qualities of a tragic hero upon the
example of Oedipus. In Aristotle's conception, a tragic hero is a distinguished person occupying a high position, living
in prosperous circumstances and falling into misfortune because of an error in judgment. Aristotle used the word
"hamartia" to indicate the protagonist's tragic weakness. According to Aristotelian percepts about tragedy, a tragic
hero would be a man of noticeable qualities of behavior, intelligent and powerful, but by no means perfect. The fall of
a totally saint like figure or a totally depraved rogue would violate the moral expectation and the audience would think
such fall design less, chaotic and unjustifiable. Oedipus is neither a saint nor a rogue. Despite his qualities, he falls
because of his mistakes. His position is indeed as frail as ours, and he fails like common men in one sense, and such
frailty of human position is what tragedy has to make us realize.
In terms of the Aristotelian theory of tragedy, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is not perfect, but has tragic
flaws. Aristotle points out that Oedipus' tragic flaw is excessive pride (hubris) and self-righteousness. He also points
out certain characteristics that determine as tragic hero. Using Oedipus as an ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic
hero must be an important or influential man who commits an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the
consequences of his actions. The tragic hero must learn a lesson from his errors in judgment, his tragic flaw, and
become an example to the audience of what happens when great men fall from their high social or political position.
Oedipus is a great and good king. The opening scene shows Oedipus in his magnificence, as a king who is so
concerned about the welfare of his people. He addresses them as "my children" as behooved of the good kings of
those times. He is a great man with respectable moral value and personality. As a man, he is dedicated to fighting and
avoiding evil. His quest for truth is in fact the cause of downfall, and that is one of the most tragic things. As a king, he
is an epitome itself. He loves his people. He gives his best to everything he does as a person and as a king. He is so
worried by the problem of plague that he hasn't been sleeping: indeed, he says that he is suffering for the whole city
alone. He has been walking restlessly instead of properly sleeping. He says that he will not talk to people through
messengers and will not send messengers to them; he comes to them himself. He is a king of excellence, command
and esteem. The priest glorifies the king as a man "Surest in mortal ways and wisest in the ways of god". He is a man
who has become the king as much through the intelligence as through his power. It is he who solved the Sphinx's riddle
and saved all citizens from the monster. He has always become the ultimate and almost the only rescue and hope at
the time of misfortune.
Oedipus is also a morally good personality, to a great extent. It is so good of him to try to avoid the unbearable
fate that he hears of we see that Oedipus is not only too confident in his own analysis and understanding of reality, he
is also always afraid of doing wrong, He is adamant in his quest for the truth and the welfare of the people. He
surrenders to the power of fate at the end. He is of respectful towards the oracles, in the sense that he has been afraid
of what they have told him, and he does respect Teiresias before he is insulted by the apparently unjust and false
charges against him.
But as a tragic character, Oedipus has his typical tragic flaw or "hamartia". Obviously pride is his hamartia. He
is too proud and arrogant, and presumes too much about his own understanding and his powers to control his life.
But he can't control reality, chances, fate and time. He has a bad temper and wrong judgment: the error of a tragic
character is basically the "error of judgment" according to Aristotle. Oedipus wrongly judges his situation. It may be
debatable as to whether the murder of a life-threatening stranger and the marriage of a consort are crimes. But, due
to his presumption about his abilities, he has disobeyed the gods and his destiny. In his confidence upon what he
knows and can do, he escapes from the professed evil fate, he kills a man old enough to be his father, and he marries
a woman old enough to be his mother, without even doubting his wits.
His defiance of his predestined fate would be, in the time of Sophocles, a great crime. At least, we can clearly
understand that Sophocles seems to be rather conservatively suggesting that the modem men of his time were wrong
in trying to put too much emphasis on human potentials and powers of Understanding, action and shaping of their
own lives. Whatever our twenty-first evaluation of the actions of Oedipus, the evaluation of his own creator Sophocles
(and of the tellers of the myth in ancient times) is that it is morally wrong to fight against what fate has predetermined
for us.
It seems that Oedipus could have avoided his ill-destiny if he had taken certain precautions. If he could promise
of never laying a hand on a man and marrying an aged woman, he would have done better. From a human and the
more prudent point of view, it can be concluded that Oedipus falls because he remains blind at many circumstances.
In any case, he is a tragic character because he is humanly frail, morally intermediate, and good, but not unflawed by
a tragic weakness, and therefore identifiable to us and our own inescapable human condition even today. Sophocles
tragic character Oedipus is a unique tragic character that is entangled in the moral paradox of human life and reality.
His life embodies the paradox of the human situation in which such things as tragedies are not only inevitable but also
inescapable.
Oedipus as a tragic character is heroic because of his struggle, pitiable because of his weakness before the
forces of his destiny, and his tragedy arouses fear in us, because he is in the same predicament (difficult situation) like
us, though he was a great man otherwise. The irony of his fate is that fate has done what it wanted to before he started
actually believing in it. The tragedy of Oedipus is that of the realization of his failure. And the tragedy of Oedipus is a
tragedy of the human situation. His story tells us that man must do his best — but even then he cannot overcome the
inevitable!
Short Note
#In literature, hamartia refers to a character defect, or flaw, that ultimately brings about the downfall of a
tragic hero or heroine. In the case of Oedipus, his hamartia, or downfall, is his excessive pride, hastiness, and anger,
and his ultimate downfall comes with a series of unfortunate misjudgments that are made as he continuously aims to
do the right thing. Oedipus had just visited the oracle at Delphi and was upset with the information about his real
parents. On the road, when Laius's driver spoke rudely to Oedipus and shoved him, Oedipus lashed out at the driver.
Laius struck Oedipus, and so Oedipus struck back at Laius, not realizing that this old man was actually his father.
And, via his hubris, makes decisions about who lives and dies. And despite being told his fate was to marry his mother,
he nevertheless takes Laius’s wife, Jocasta, as his new wife. In this is an example of hamartia. He makes a rash
decision to marry Jocasta; this is particularly rash because he had been told that he would marry his mother.
Although he does not know that Jocasta is his mother, he does know that she is of an age that she could be his mother.
When a plague hits Thebes, Oedipus seeks out the blind soothsayer, Tiresias. He tells Oedipus that the reason
for the plague is himself - he says Oedipus has killed King Laius. Others advise Oedipus to stop in his pursuit of the
truth, but he refuses to give up. He believes he is doing what is best, but he is also unknowingly bringing about his
own downfall. Humility could allow him to realize it is possible that the person he had killed earlier, could’ve been
the king, but he refuses to believe it.
#Jocasta is the wife of Laius, the former king of Thebes. After Laius' death, Oedipus becomes king of Thebes
and marries Jocasta, unaware that she is his mother. When a plague strikes the city, the Delphic oracle declares that
the killer of Laius must be punished. Oedipus uncovers the truth that he himself killed Laius and that Jocasta is his
mother. Upon learning the truth, Jocasta commits suicide. Jocasta is a tragic figure, but not as courageous as Oedipus.
She appears feminine and is not as committed to facing the truth as Oedipus. However, Jocasta is a loving and devoted
wife who seeks to ease Oedipus' worries and anxieties. When Oedipus becomes enraged while arguing with Creon,
Jocasta intervenes to calm them both down.
Jocasta's behavior towards her own child may appear cruel, but she did it out of her belief in the Delphic oracle
and her regard for her husband. She hoped to prevent the prophecy from coming true, but ultimately, she could not
avert it. Jocasta is similar to a queen in her qualities, and although she is not as courageous as Oedipus, she still leaves
a strong impression on the audience's mind.
The word "catharsis" comes from the Greek word "katharsis," meaning to purge, purify, or cleanse. In drama
and literature, catharsis refers to a climactic moment of a story in which the characters' and/or audience's emotions
are released after having been built up throughout the story. In other words, catharsis occurs after the dramatic
tension raised by the events of the plot has increased to the point where it boils over. The feeling of release that the
characters or audience experience comes from the satisfaction of their expectations. Pity and fear are the most
common emotions to be "purged" in catharsis because they are easily built up and easily related to. The climactic
moment that causes catharsis usually takes the form of a big reveal, reversal, or plot twist, and often produces a
reaction of shock, disbelief, or horror in the audience but other emotions, like happiness and sadness, are also
possible, but pity and fear are the most common when it comes to tragedies.
Most often, catharsis occurs toward the end of the story because emotion needs time to be built as events
unfold over the course of the story. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle writes about catharsis in his master
treatise on drama, Poetics. Aristotle considers catharsis to be one of the main reasons that humans enjoy theater and
art.
#Tiresias was the son of a shepherd and a nymph. He became blind when he accidentally saw the goddess
Athena bathing, and she took his sight away for this. When Athena blinded Tiresias, she also gave him foresight, the
ability to see into the future. He is often portrayed as the oracle of Apollo, a man who could see the future and the
will of the gods. It's in this role, as a prophet and an oracle who possesses the gift of foresight, that Tiresias appears in
Oedipus Rex. He represents the truth rejected by a willful and proud king, almost the personification of Fate itself.
Oedipus has good reason to be angry at him. King Oedipus has in front of him a man with the knowledge needed to
save Thebes, but Teiresias won't reveal the necessary information. Instead he tells Oedipus that there's no point in
revealing the truth, because everything that's going to happen is just going to happen anyway. He only drops hints.