#12: Oedipus the King

Written by Joyce Liu; Edited by Lizzy Murakami

I. Thebian Apathy as Contrasted with Oedipus' Compassion Right from the opening lines of Oedipus the King, something seems somewhat awry. It is not merely the plague that has been inflicted upon the city. Creon comes back to inform Oedipus that according to the oracle, the plague is a punishment for Laius' murder. When Oedipus asks for details of the murder, only a vague approximation is given.

They were all killed save one. He fled in terror
and he could tell us nothing in clear terms
of what he knew, nothing, but one thing only. (117 - 119)

The lack of investigation is astounding. Even Oedipus brings this to question.

What trouble was so great to hinder you
inquiring out the murder of your king? (128 - 129)

The chorus responds by saying that the riddle of the sphinx (from which Oedipus became king) called for more attention. The people of Thebes do not ask questions, it seems. There is an eerie lack of curiosity, one that is contrasted with the intelligence and inquisitiveness of Oedipus. There appears to be, among the people of Thebes, a general fear of the known, as opposed to the usual uneasiness presented by the unknown. Jocasta, the queen, embodies this general malaise of apathy. Not only does she not want knowledge, she seems to be dismayed by it.

Why should man fear since chance is all in all
for him, and he can clearly foreknow nothing?
Best to live lightly, as one can, unthinkingly. (976 - 979)

Oedipus, on the other hands, issues a vow to find the murderer and lift the curse, once again taking the role of savior or Thebes. His mannerism as he talks to his people is unlike any other ruler we have read thus far. He speaks to them as if they were his children.

I pity you, children. You have come full of longing…
I know you are all sick,
yet there is not one of you, sick though you are,
that is as sick as I myself. (57 – 61)

His intentions are honorable until the end. Even after he learned that he is the recipient of his self- invoked curse, he keeps his word and flees the city as to save it from doom. (This will be discussed further in section IV.)

II. Tyche and Fate

From Homer to Sophocles, there has been a shift in the representation of orthodox fate as in the Iliad to a set of choices in the Odyssey to a secularized fate known as luck or tyche in Oedipus the King. In Oedipus' case, luck runs both ways. It is not, therefore, the fates that lead to Oedipus' downfall, but his hamartia – his error in judgment. Even Oedipus admits this in the end.

It was Apollo, friends, Apollo,
that brought this bitter bitterness, my sorrows to completion.
But the hand that struck me was my own. (1329 - 1333)

Though the gods predicted his fate, it was his own hamartia that did him in. He wrongly assumes who his parents are and who he is. Because of this lack of knowledge, he does not realize the calamitous consequences of his actions. His actions at the crossroads were lapses in judgment as was his marrying Jocasta. One would think that bearing the prophecy in mind, one would neither kill an unknown man old enough to be his father nor marry a woman old enough to be his mother.

III. The Importance of Sight

Sight is an underlying theme in this play. Visual sight in this play is representative of an earthly intelligence while insight suggests divine wisdom. of the contrast between sign and insight is exemplified by Oedipus and Teiresias. Teiresias, a blind prophet signifies the truth as dictated by the gods:He says, "…the truth is what I cherish and that's my strength."(357 - 358) In contrast, Oedipus, a sighted man, cannot see the truth right in front of him.

Since you have taunted me with being blind,
here is my word for you.
You have your eyes but see not where you are
in sin, nor where you live, nor whom you live with…
A deadly footed, double striking curse,
from father and mother both, shall drive you forth
out of this land, with darkness on your eyes,
that now have such straight vision. (413 - 414, 417 - 419)

"Eyes" is the emphasized word in this passage. As he taunts Teiresias, the irony becomes more and more apparent. For even though Oedipus is blessed with perception and mental acuity (used to solve the sphinx's riddle), he, while still sighted, does not possess insight. At the end when he gouges his own eyes out, he is said to have lost sight but gained vision.

IV. Ah! The Dramatic Irony

The interaction between the audience and the play relies heavily on dramatic irony. The first instance of dramatic irony is Oedipus' invocation of the curse during his speech to the chorus.

Upon the murderer I invoke this curse -
whether he is one man and all unknown,
or one of many - may he wear out his life
in misery to miserable doom. (246 - 249)

Oedipus does not know that he is cursing himself to misery. This and his misassumption that his parents are the king and queen of Corinth are instances of Oedipus' lack of knowledge. His slaying of Laius at the crossroads, his marrying of Jocasta, and his persistence in this investigation of the plague are ensuing erroneous decisions made as a result of his ignorance.

V. The Role of the Chorus

The role of the Chorus in Oedipus is not always a clearly defined one. At different times in the play, it fulfills different functions. During the first scene, the chorus represents the people of Thebes who have come before Oedipus pleading for his help once again to save the city. The Chorus speaks of the sufferings of the people..

Our sorrows defy numbers;
all the ship's timbers are rotten…
In the unnumbered deaths
of its people the city dies;
those children that are born lie die on the naked earth
unpitied, spreading contagion of death… (168 - 169, 178 - 181)

Anon, the chorus can be seen as an alter ego or sorts. It reveals in its speech, Oedipus' creeping fear that Teiresias might speak the truth. As he is repeating the prophecy, the chorus questions itself.

As you have held me to my oath, I speak:
I neither killed the king nor can declare
the killer… (276 - 277)

Finally, the chorus acts as a vessel of empathy. The theme of shared suffering arises again. Knowledge is gained as a result of an endured experience i.e. pathemathos. The pity that Oedipus' hamartia elicits from the audience as well as the fear that this, too, could occur to one of them is what makes Oedipus a truly tragic and sympathetic character.