Sophocles. Oedipus the King. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1984. Print.
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Quote:
Why here and kneeling, what preys upon you so?
Some sudden fear? some strong desire?
You can trust me. I am ready to help,
I'll do anything. I would be blind to misery
not to pity my people kneeling at my feet. (11-15)
Analysis:
Oedipus shows his concern for the people of Thebes as he
asks questions. By telling the citizens that he should be trusted, Oedipus
inadvertently suggests that he is not trusted. Oedipus claims that he is
"ready to help" and will "do anything" which shows his
confidence in himself. He tells his people, "I would be blind to misery /
not to pity my people kneeling at my feet". These lines demonstrate the
dramatic irony of the play because Oedipus is "blind" to what causes
the "misery" of Thebes. Furthermore, Oedipus says that it would be
wrong to not "pity my people" which is also ironic because the person
who needs pity the most is himself and not the people he claims to be his. Furthermore,
the word "kneeling" indicates a clear social hierarchy between
Oedipus and the Thebans.
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Quote:
So,
you mock my blindness? Let me tell
you this.
You with your precious eyes,
you're blind to the corruption of
your life,
to the house you live in, those you live with--
who are your
parents? Do you know? ...
darkness shrouding
your eyes that now can see the
light! (468-479)
Analysis:
Oedipus and Tiresias are arguing about blindness and sight
which make these lines very ironic. When Tiresias makes the point that Oedipus
is "blind to the corruption of [his] life", he's talking about
Oedipus' ignorance of the truth which are the taboos he commits. In other
words, with Oedipus' "precious eyes", he can see, but he also cannot
see. He does not see that he is already in deep trouble. Therefore, at this
point of the play, he is figuratively blind. Tiresias asks Oedipus who his
parents are because he knows that Oedipus still has not understood his cursed fate.
At this moment, Oedipus steps back and thinks about who he really is; it is the
first step before Oedipus' anagnorisis. The "darkness" Tiresias talks
about refers to the truth that Oedipus still is "blind to". Tiresias
is saying that Oedipus is blind to the truth that surrounds him but Oedipus
does not seem to see it. In contrast, all Oedipus sees right now is the
"light" which is his ignorance of the truth.
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Once she'd broken in through the gates,
dashing past us, frantic, whipped to fury,
ripping her hair out with both hands--
straight to her rooms she rushed, flinging herself
across the bridal-bed, doors slamming behind her--
once inside, she wailed for Laius, dead so long,
remembering how she bore his child long ago,
the life that rose up to destroy him, leaving
its mother to mother living creatures
with the very son she'd borne. (1369-1378)
Analysis:
These lines show Jocasta's reaction to the realization of
her taboo. She goes insane because there is nothing she could do to fix the
mess she is in. She is "frantic, whipped to fury" as she rips "her
hair out with both hands". She then flings "herself / across the
bridal-bed" and "wailed for Laius". Her actions demonstrate that
she misses Laius, her husband. She is also very disgusted with herself. Jocasta
reflects on her actions from the past few years. She recalls the birth of
Oedipus and also recalls that she mothers Oedipus' "living
creatures". Jocasta does not see
her children with Oedipus as human since they are born from taboo. She sees
them as "creatures" which dehumanizes her own children. Overall,
there is a lot of action that occurs through these lines. Even though as an
audience, we do not actually see these events happening, we can picture them
because of verbs such as, "dashing past", "whipped",
"ripping her hair", "flinging herself / across the
bridal-bed", "slamming", and "wailed".
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Quote:
Die, die--
whoever he was that day in
the wilds
who cut my ankles free of the ruthless pins,
he pulled me clear
of death , he saved my life
for this, this kindness--
Curse him, kill him!
If I'd died then, I'd never have dragged myself,
my loved ones through such
hell. (1482-1489)
Analysis:
Oedipus shows the anger he feels towards the shepherd who
saved him as a child. After repeating the word "die," he exclaims,
"Curse him, kill him!" which reveals the depth of his anger. Even
though Oedipus realizes that the person "saved [his] life, for this
kindness", he still wants the person dead because he ultimately did not
want what happened to happen. In other words, Oedipus would rather be dead if
it meant for his family to be safe. Oedipus believes that because he lived, his
fate brought suffering to his "loved ones"; he brought them
"through such hell". This quote also supports the motif that living
and suffering is a lot more punishing than escaping by death. In addition, Oedipus
uses "hell" to compare his sufferings of his life to the underground
world of sin.
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Quote:
Don't let them go begging, abandoned,
women without men. Your own flesh and blood!
Never bring them down to the
level of my pains.
Pity them. Look at them, so young, so vulnerable,
shorn
of everything--you're their only hope. (1649-1653)
Analysis:
These lines show how caring Oedipus is towards his
daughters; however, he makes his daughters seem very helpless and powerless. He
tells Creon, "Don't let them go begging, abandoned" and "so
young, so vulnerable". Oedipus also makes it seem like females in general
need men beside them for protection when he says, "women without
men". That phrase also made women seem very weak without a male figure
next to them. A woman's "only hope" lies in a man. Oedipus also tells
Creon that "you're their only hope" because Creon is the only male
that will not look down upon them because he is their uncle. His loyalty to not
abandon Oedipus' daughters comes from the fact that they are family. On the
other hand, Oedipus is looking out for his children by worrying about their
futures. He understands that his taboos do not only affect himself; they also
affect his daughters. His daughters are "shorn of everything" for the
rest of their lives because of Oedipus. Furthermore, Oedipus' tone in these
lines shows his desperation for Creon to take care of his daughters because he
believes that no one else would.
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Synthesis:
How has your view of Oedipus developed over the
course of the play?
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus first comes out as an overconfident
leader who makes rash decisions and sayings, but throughout the play, he
becomes a rational character. His bold promises to the people of Thebes such as
"You can trust me. I am ready to help, / I'll do anything" (13-14)
make him seem reliable. However, as part of the audience, we know of the
dramatic irony in the play. Therefore, I could not help but feel pity for
Oedipus when he is under societal pressure for committing incest and patricide.
As the tragedy plays out, we see that Oedipus' confidence is slowly crumbling
as he learns about his cursed fate. He is desperate for the truth because
without it, his ignorance prevents him from having confidence in himself. After
the tragedy, Oedipus violently gouges his eyes out instead of death. Even
though his actions may not seem reasonable at first, Oedipus had a reason. In
the minds of Oedipus and the Thebans, they "count no man happy till he
dies" (1684). Oedipus wanted to punish himself. He did not want to escape
out of his misery and become happy by death. In addition to his pain, Oedipus
makes a responsible decision of exiling himself; the plague of Thebes.
Ultimately,
what important understandings have you gained about family, society,
leadership, etc., through Oedipus and his tragedy?
The tragedy teaches about family and society through warnings of taboos by
cursing Oedipus' fate which causes him to suffer consequences. As a society, we
look down upon taboos because we socially see them as wrong even though there
is no reason to. In fact, Oedipus has a special case of being ignorant of his actions,
which has us reevaluate if he should actually be condemned. Furthermore, one's
reputation could affect the rest of one's kinsmen. In Oedipus' tragedy, his family
is socially affected because Oedipus turns his reputation into a bad one.
Society looks down upon them as a whole because they are related. In other
words, the reputation of an individual is shared by others, particularly by
family.
