Poor Oedipus! I think that if he were a jerk who didn’t care about his people then I wouldn’t feel as bad. However, that is not the case. He is a genuinely good guy. Look at all the ways that he has protected the city. He saved them from the Sphynx. He is insistent on getting down to the bottom of the curse. He checks out every story and calls in all his resources. He is so pure-hearted in his endeavors. It seems to me that he would do anything for his people. And then his world comes crashing down in one foul swoop and turns into another story of “who’s your daddy?”. Then comes the worst news of all. He married his mom!!! What an awful day!!! So in the end he blinds himself. Blindness seems to be a pattern here. He could not see the truth before, and now that he sees it he no longer wants to. Adam and Eve maybe? Just some thoughts
P.S. I commented on Jeremy's
I would have to agree that Oedipus experienced the single worst day of any man in history. He finds out he: killed his Dad, married and had kids with his mom and was adopted. He also got dethroned, blinded, and exiled. On top of all that, his mom/wife killed herself and he was separated from his daughters.
ReplyDeleteUntil further notice this shall be known as the worst single day in history.
Thank you.
Ben
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ReplyDeleteOedipus was indeed having a bad day. But, he also knew that he was fated to marry his mother, told to him by Apollo at Delphi. So, could we really consider him innocent of that wrong when he chose to marry despite knowing that was in his fate? Perhaps this merely points more towards his blindness, believing that he could outwit the plans of the gods. (I don't know why it keeps removing my comments!)
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