Was Oedipus Responsible For His Own Downfall

As the play proceeds and Oedipus is passed from hand to hand, he eventually ends up in the home of King Polybus and Queen Merope were he grows into a young man being fed the lie that they were his true parents. When Oedipus is told the prophecy that he will kill his father he flees in an attempt to avoid the murder. However, as fate would have it he ran to a crossroad where he fulfilled the prophecy killing King Laius, his true father. While Oedipus continues to run he meets Jocasta, his birth mother, whom he eventually marries and has children with. If Jocasta had kept Oedipus as a baby and raised him or just killed him herself there would have been no chance of the prophecy coming true.

When she was told her prophecy, which stated her newborn son is going to kill his own father and lie with her, she tried to go against her prophecy and ultimately abandon her son. She also proved herself ignorant when she said “Why should man fear since chance is all in all for hum, and he can clearly foreknow nothing? Best to live lightly, as on can, unthinkingly.”. When it was brought to Oedipus’s attention that the father that he grew up with passed away, he had a sense of relief that part of the prophecy he was told didn’t become true, but he still had fear that what the Oracle said may become true, Jocasta tells him that it is better for him to live without thinking about what the Oracle said. When the messenger tells Oedipus that his parents who he thought weren’t his real parents and that his parents abandoned him, Jocasta upon hearing this figures out Oedipus’s real identity and says “I beg you – do not hunt this out – I beg you. If you have any care for your own life. What I am suffering is enough… Oh Oedipus, God help you! God keep you from the knowledge of who you are!”. In Oedipus’s case, Ellison’s quote applies in a differing way, because Jocasta tells Oedipus to stop searching for the truth about his identity because he is better off living unaware of his

Through Jocasta's viewpoint, the audience gains both depth of insight into her predicament and an understanding of the potential consequences posed not just for herself, but for her family as well. Jocasta serves as a pivotal character in the play, providing essential information about Oedipus before he himself becomes aware of the truth at hand. Her conversations with Oedipus offer insights that enable the audience to deduce the mystery before Oedipus does. Jocasta's relevance lies in her role in revealing crucial details through her interactions with Oedipus. Not only was Jocasta a source of important information

Although there is no correct way in which to react to heartbreaking news, Jocasta is seen handling the situation with no grace or maturity. Supporters of Jocasta’s approach argue that she acts appropriately since she has not cause the problem to grow, thus not allowing the issue to spread and affect others negatively. In truth, however, Jocasta is very ungraceful when she discovers the underlying foulness of her marriage and truth to her son’s life. For example, while Oedipus is trying to solve the crime of Laius, the King, she involves herself in a quarrel between Creon and Oedipus. While putting a stop to the argument, she is found saying that if Oedipus and Creon did not escalate the situation, it would not be

In the establishment of the play, Jocasta and Oedipus seem as though they are a traditional royal husband and wife, with ordinary children. They love each other, unaware of the truth. Jocasta illustrates what she did to her son as a consequence of an incestual and sinful prophecy that her son would someday kill Laius and marry her, as told by an oracle. She reveals that she and Laius fastened their son’s ankles and left him on a mountain to die. She declares, “[...] My baby / no more murdered his father than Laius suffered -- / his wildest fear -- death at his own son’s hands” (794-796). While both

She also tells him that this did not happen though because Laius died at the hands of highway robbers at a cross road. However, this worries Oedipus because he remembers he killed a man at a cross roads around the same time the former king died. Jocasta tries to assure it could not be him who killed Laius because it was more than one man who killed the king according to a shepherd that was with him at the time but got away. Oedipus calls on the shepherd to come and tell his side of the story. While awaiting the shepherd a messenger from Corinth the place Oedipus was raised shows up to tell Oedipus his father died of a sickness. Oedipus is relieved because he thinks he evaded the prophecy because his father did not die at his hands but the messenger tells Oedipus that his father was not actually his father and that he had brought Oedipus to his father as an infant. The sheaperd

As he was growing closer to the truth about his birth, he was slowly killing his wife. Once he discovers who his real parents are, Jocasta commits suicide because she is mortified to find out that her husband is also her son and the father of all her children; she is unable to handle the humiliation of such a scandal. Oedipus’s determination be all-knowing provokes the catastrophic death of Jocasta. Incapable of accepting the truth, Oedipus’s pride leads to his tragic downfall. After Jocasta’s death, he blinds himself with the brooches of her robes.

The difference between Oedipus and Tiresias is that Tiresias will acknowledge the truth, and prophecies, and suffer its stressors, while Oedipus will ignore the truth and suffer as well. While the prophet serves as a minor character, knowledge also affects people who are close to Oedipus, like Jocasta. Jocasta is Oedipus’s wife and biological mother, who was first seen after Oedipus’s talk with the prophet. While she listened to her husband's angry, irritated tangent about it, she explained her point of view. She explained that the oracle claimed that her son would kill his father, so what she and her former husband did was bind their child and leave him on a mountain to die.

As Oedipus is accused of killing King Laiös, a similar prophecy resurfaces where Oedipus confesses to meeting with an oracle who said that he will kill his father and marry his mother. At this moment, Oedipus and Jocaste believe that Polybus is Oedipus's father, so when a messenger comes to their house to announce the death of Polybus, Jocaste is ecstatic to know that the gods were wrong. She says, “This is what prophets and prophecies are worth” (Sophocles 1240). In a mocking tone, Jocaste insults the gods by claiming that no god can have control over people's lives, thinking she was right about their pseudo existence. However, the messenger further reveals that Polybus is actually not Oedipus’s father which leads to the truth of Oedipus’ birth.

Planed downfall or chosen downfall? It is true that everyday people are faced with difficult situations and they have to decide how to surpass them, for Oedipus every choice he makes leads him to his fate. In Oedipus the king by Sophocles we see Oedipus struggle a lot with his fate and his free will and we see how he allows his hubris to lead him to his downfall. Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control and free will is the ability to act at one's own discretion we know Oedipus is responsible for his own suffering because it was not beyond his control he chooses to learn the truth and did not care about the outcome.

Also, when Creon asks Oedipus the possibility that he is wrong when accusing Tiresias and himself, Oedipus disregards the needs and rights of other people in order to avoid the truth of the suffering that Tiresias has bestowed upon him: “‘What if you’re wholly wrong?’ ‘No matter-I must rule’”. Oedipus became rash and selfish when faced with suffering when he threw away the rights of the citizens for his own self pleasure despite the lack of evidence and reason to do so. Therefore, when Oedipus is faced with suffering, he blames others for his own fate to avoid the truth until it is right in front of him. Therefore, unlike Tiresias and King Laius, Oedipus is more hasty and selfish when faced with suffering.

Jocasta rejoices, convinced that Polybus’s death from natural causes has disproved the prophecy that Oedipus would murder his father. At Jocasta’s summons, Oedipus comes outside, hears the news, and rejoices with her. He now feels much more inclined to agree with the queen in deeming prophecies worthless and viewing chance as the principle governing the world. But while Oedipus finds great comfort in the fact that one-half of the prophecy has been disproved, he still fears the other half—the half that claimed he would sleep with his mother.

Jocasta: Plays the part of wife, lover and mother to the same person, Oedipus. She appears to be the voice of reason during the beginning of the conflict between Oedipus and Creon. The Chorus Leader in line 765 is greatly relieved to see Jocasta approach and is hopeful that her skills will calm the quale that has arisen. Jocasta proceeds, in line 770, to rebuke the men for their foolish behavior and personal quarrel instead of attending to more important matters of state. This reveals that as the queen, she has more concern and compassion for the people’s welfare then the bickering of two old men. Jocasta’s authority and ability to direct comes out when she directs both her brother and husband to go home. Additionally, she further uses her authority as a wife in an attempt to take control of the situation with Oedipus. But she is unable to persuade Oedipus that the fates are not in control, as described (line 850). She has an incredible amount of hope and faith in humanities ability to control their own destiny, as she relates the story of her infant son being killed by Laius as truth and thereby nullifying the prophecy. Furthermore, Jocasta shows loyalty to her husband as she attempts to remove his worry and discontent over the prophecy, in line 1160, by continuing to declare that the fates have no power, over man’s free will. Oddly, no one throughout the play seems to catch onto is her deception. In line 1284, she is overwhelmed and upset that Oedipus refuses to

Early on in the story, Oedipus is the proud and confident king of Thebes; he is a man that is not to be underestimated or degraded. This once undisputed fact becomes more debatable the longer the play continues, however. The conflict begins with Oedipus attempting to lift a curse that has been unleashed on the kingdom of Thebes. This curse was caused by the murder of the previous king, Laius, and the only way for it to be lifted is for the murderer to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus works fervently to unravel the mystery behind who Laius’ killer was. However, each new discovery ends up incriminating Oedipus as the killer instead. Along the way Oedipus discovers that his supposed parents, the king and queen of Corinth, are not his true parents. This revelation pushes him to begin a new search for his biological parents, a search that eventually leads him to one of Lainus’ shepherds. It is this shepherd that reveals to King Oedipus that his mother is Jocasta, his current wife. Consequently, Oedipus falls into a fit of despair in which he stabs his own eyes out and confronts the consequences of his shameful existence. By the end of the play, Oedipus has not only lost his status as the king of Thebes, but has also been exiled from the kingdom and has become an outcast for all of society to hate. The transition Oedipus undergoes

This information makes Oedipus uneasy. He recalls having killed a man answering Laius' description at this very spot when he was fleeing from his home in Corinth to avoid fulfillment of a similar prophecy. An aged messenger arrives from Corinth, at this point, to announce the death of King Polybus, supposed father of Oedipus, and the election of Oedipus as king in his stead. On account of the old prophecy Oedipus refuses to return to Corinth until his mother, too, is dead. To calm his fears the messenger assures him that he is not the blood son of Polybus and Merope, but a foundling from the house of Laius deserted in the mountains. This statement is confirmed by the old shepherd whom Jocasta had charged with the task of exposing her babe. Thus the ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in each