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Fate and Free Will

Oedipus' fate was prophesied at birth that he would kill his father and marry his mother. His parents, Jocasta and Laius, tried to avoid this fate by abandoning Oedipus as an infant. However, fate intervened and Oedipus was rescued by a shepherd. As an adult, Oedipus unknowingly fulfills the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother. When the truth is revealed, Oedipus blinds himself in despair at being unable to overcome his destined fate.

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840 views1 page

Fate and Free Will

Oedipus' fate was prophesied at birth that he would kill his father and marry his mother. His parents, Jocasta and Laius, tried to avoid this fate by abandoning Oedipus as an infant. However, fate intervened and Oedipus was rescued by a shepherd. As an adult, Oedipus unknowingly fulfills the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother. When the truth is revealed, Oedipus blinds himself in despair at being unable to overcome his destined fate.

Uploaded by

falak chaudhary
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FALAK NOREEN

MISS FAIZA ALEEM


BSELC01161006

TRAGEDY OF FATE AND FREE WILL (OEDIPUS REX)


In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the theme of fate vs. free will appears often throughout the
play. It is prophesied to Oedipus’s parents, Jocasta and Laius that their son would grow up to kill
his father and marry his mother. Diana McHugh addresses the concept of fate by writing,
Their attempt to assert their free will is foiled when fate intervenes, in the form of the “good
will” of a Shepherd who spares the infant’s life.
Jocasta and Laius attempt to get rid of their son but fate triumphs. Oedipus’ fate throughout the
play has been decided by the prophecy which contributes to his destruction.
Apollo is aware Oedipus is guilty of killing his father so when Apollo asks for Laius’s killer to
be found, Oedipus will find himself. Oedipus’ pride is emphasized when he searches for Laius’
killer to stop the plague; he wants to find the killer and protect himself. McHugh states,
“Oedipus relentlessly begins the long search to find the killer, ignorant to the fact that it is he
himself and that his fate is closing upon him.”
Oedipus is ignorant to the fact that by searching for the killer he is sealing his own fate.
Through Oedipus’ efforts to find the killer, he summons the blind prophet Tiresias to his palace
for question. The scene between Tiresias and Oedipus is the first scene in the play to demonstrate
strong conflict. Before this scene, Oedipus has acted calmly but loses patience when Tiresias
refuses to reveal the identity of the killer. Tiresias’s confidence in the prophecy while Oedipus’s
free will falters:
Hear me out. Since you have thrown my blindness at me I will tell you what yours don’t
see: what evil you are steeped in. You don’t see where you live or who shares your house.
Do you know your parents? You are their enemy in this life and down there with the dead.
(Ll. 495–503)
He is the one guilty of the murder of Laius, and that his wife, Jocasta is in fact his mother.
Oedipus’s ignorance of the prophecy ultimately leads to his destruction. Oedipus leaves the
house of his adoptive parents, Polybus and Merope, hoping to avoid the prophecy coming true.
Oedipus uses his free will to take this action but doing so leads up to his prophecy coming true.
Oedipus’s destiny is predetermined at birth by the gods. Having his life predetermined by fate
leaves little space for free will to intervene to change that. Discovering he is the killer, Oedipus
blinds himself and is exiled from Thebes.
REFERENCE
https://medium.com/world-literature/oedipus-the-tragedy-of-fate-fbb7890d0183

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