Oedipus The King
Uploaded by texaSS on Jun 19, 2005 |
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Oedipus' main conflicts in Sophocles' play, Oedipus the King, revolve around the fact that he did not know himself. In his lifetime, Oedipus always believed he knew where he came from and where he belonged. And it took him a long time to finally be convinced of his true past and realize his worst fear came true.
Oedipus more or less rebuffs any suggestion that contradicts what he believes his past is comprised of. He thinks he knows who his parents really are, but Oedipus overhears a rumor that suggests his parents aren’t who he thinks they are. With that knowledge in mind, Oedipus tries to extract the truth by visiting the Oracle. The trip only results in a prophecy that informs him that he will kill his father and marry his mother. At that, Oedipus flees the city of Corinth and travels to Thebes to escape the horrible fate. But Oedipus was not even completely convinced of who exactly his parents were.
Other than not knowing factual information about his origination, Oedipus also seems to ‘forget’ his past fairly easily. Oedipus, who is the current king of Thebes, asks a prophet referred to as Teirsias to tell him who murdered the former king, Laius. At the beginning of the confrontation, Teirasias refuses to tell Oedipus any information. But after an agitated conversation, Oedipus almost forces Teirasias to reveal all that he knows:
Oedipus: I know nothing! Repeat your truth!
Teirsias: I said, you are the murderer you are searching for. (81-82)
Even after this, Oedipus simply would not accept that as the truth. He cannot see himself as someone who would harm a city by murdering their king and bringing a plague upon the city. He likes or prefers to think of himself as the one who came to their rescue and lifted the plague off the city.
Later on in the play, Oedipus has a conversation with Jocasta. She tells Oedipus about a prophecy who proclaimed Lauis would be murdered by his own son. With that said, she proceeded to tell him all about the circumstances of Lauis’ murder. Oedipus knows that he killed an old man in that same spot, around the same time frame. He also knows the prophecy told him that he would kill his father. At this point, Oedipus seems to be piecing the puzzle together. Because he doesn’t want to realize that he indeed is the murderer, he yells, “Stop! You torture me! I have hurled myself blindly against unthinking Fury and destruction!” (96). Oedipus thinks too highly of himself to believe that he could be so terrible as to murder his own father and marry his mother. He probably even believes that he was justified in killing someone, who at the time was nothing more than a mean old man.
At this point, he still allows Jocasta to convince him that his suspicions are unfounded. When he has considerable doubt in his mind, he sends for the servant who witnessed the murder. After talking to a messenger from Corinth, the evidence seems to revealing and can not longer be denied. He finally realizes that he is the evil in the city that killed his father and married his mother. It took a considerable amount of facts and evidence to convince Oedipus of the person who he truly was.
Throughout the play, Oedipus seems to be in constant denial of both his past and his true character. If Oedipus had ever attempted to figure himself out and to know himself, he may have saved his family and two cities a great deal of grief. |
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