The inability to see the truth no matter how transparent or opaque it is, is extremely unlucky and leads to the demise of Oedipus. Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a tragic play set in Thebes in front of the royal palace steps. During the entire play, the tragic truth of Oedipus’s past slowly unravels in front of him, eventually destroying his very person from within. In the play Oedipus the King, the titular character is the perfect example of a tragic hero, because despite his positive traits, his firm determination to find the truth combined with the presence of Apollo’s prophecy as well as his fatal flaw, was the cause of his own fall in the end.
Oedipus was a man of many admirable qualities, which makes him an extraordinary character, and one of noble stature. Of the many praiseworthy traits that Oedipus possesses, determination eclipses them all. His determination, although misdirected, is obvious after he learns of a murderer who is the cause of his beloved city’s plague. Oedipus vows that “no man, no place, nothing will escape [his] gaze”, and that he “will not stop until [he] knows it all…” and is able to finally “expose the killer” and “reveal him to the light” (Sophocles, 363). The irony here is tragic as Oedipus’s nobleness and good intentions are wasted because he is essentially fighting so hard for nothing. He is determined to solve the mystery throughout the entire play but in reality, he cursed himself with his own righteousness, ultimately becoming a disgraced figure and ruining his own life.
Even though he was a noble figure, Oedipus had many inherent fatal flaws that contributed to his destruction. Oedipus’ main tragic flaw among many is his hubris, or overly prideful nature, which is best seen after he pesters Teiresias to tell him the truth about his ancestry, but then angrily begins denying the blind prophet’s accusations. Though Teiresias is actually a wise and knowledgeable figure, Oedipus calls him an “old fool” and claims he should have “thought twice before asking [him] to come if [he] had known [Teiresias] would spew out such idiocy” (Sophocles 596). Oedipus prides himself in being virtuous inside and out, and that causes him to be completely blind to the truth. Oedipus was proud, excessively so, and brought about his own fall, thus reversing his fortune. Had he not succumbed to his fatal pride, he would have been able to quietly expect the truth and protect himself out of self-preservation. The audience in turn pities Oedipus, for they know a character of such caliber is heading down a bleak road, and are unable to help.
In the end, it was a combination of his most dominant characteristics, along with the presence of the prophecy, that put Oedipus on the path to utter downfall, though he might have did nothing morally wrong to deserve his unfortunate ending. Despite his outstanding qualities, Oedipus’ attempts to escape his fate were nullified by a mixture of his greatness and hamartia. As the play progresses, the actions of Oedipus illuminate more of his past, and he finally becomes aware of the truth, all the while plunging his sanity into a deep, dark hole. After everyone had left, the chorus outlined the miserable fate of the great Oedipus in a few simple lines by asserting that “all men gazed on his fortunate life, all men envied him”, but that ultimately “all he had, all this was, pulled down and swallowed by the storm of his own life, and by the gods” (Sophocles 1980). Peripeteia is evident here, and was brought about by his own pride to uphold justice. Even though Oedipus fought bravely for a greater good, his undeserved destruction was still brought about by his own choices and predestined fate.
Throughout the play, Oedipus’s greatness coexisting with his greatest hamartia in an attempt to leave Apollo's prophecy unsatisfied, and to learn the truth of his past, lead to his eventual ruination. Regardless of his fine qualities and noble stature, his excessive pride in upholding justice, along with his underserved damnation due to his own free choice, sets in stone the fact that Oedipus is truly a tragic hero. The overarching theme of blindness through the play represents the tragic hero’s inability to “see” the situation clearly, and though it seems like Oedipus did not deserve his fate, it acts as a lesson to be wary of the truth.
Works Cited
Sophocles, Stephen Berg, and Diskin Clay. Oedipus the King. New York:
Oxford UP, 1978. Print.
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