Oedipus the King
Episode 3
The place where three roads meet
The track up the narrow valley towards Thebes would have
provided an excellent spot for the encounter: there would
have been little room for maneuver for a wagon coming down
towards the road-junction, even one man refusing to get out
of the way would be enough to make progress impossible.
A Mistaken Identity
•
This map shows
Oedipus’ flight from
Corinth.
• Everyone in Ancient
Greece knew that you
cannot outrun an
oracle’s prophesy-you cannot change
your destiny.
In Episode 3, Oedipus learns of
the death of Polybus. Why does
this relieve Oedipus and Jacosta?
The Oedipus Complex
•
Oedipus complex, a concept used in
psychoanalysis, is a child's unconscious
desire for the exclusive love of the parent of
the opposite sex. This desire includes
jealousy toward the parent of the same sex
and the unconscious wish for that parent's
death.
•
The term Oedipus complex was first used by
the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. It
comes from the myth of Oedipus, a Greek
hero who unknowingly killed his father and
married his mother. Freud used the term to
describe the unconscious feelings of children
of both sexes toward their parents.
Theme revealed in Episode 3
Running away from one's fate
ultimately ensures that one is
only running towards it.
In Episode 3, Oedipus is running
toward his true identity.
-- Polybus is his adopted father.
-- he was given to Polybus by a shepherd.
-- his ankles were drilled through
-- a shepherd who had worked for King
Laius had given him to the Corinthian
Jacosta recognizes that Oedipus is her son.
Consequently, she foreshadows Oedipus’
tragic downfall:
It’s finished. No chance now. You’re doomed.
I’ve said all there is to say:
And my last word to you. Forever.(45)