Layne Bolden
1/15/13
If
you had the opportunity to alter your destiny, would you? Though the idea of
controlling one’s own fate continues to prevail in modern media and art, the
exact opposite characterized Ancient Greek literature and thought. Sophocles’
play Oedipus the King delivers perhaps
one of the most well-known and heartbreaking examples with it’s titular
character, Oedipus. His parents, rulers of the city Thebes, receive a prophecy
that their son would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Though they take
extensive pains to subvert it, the prophecy ends up coming true because of
their plans, and is brought to light by Oedipus’ own pride. The play depicts a
world in which one cannot control one’s own future, which is left up to fate.
Despite the best efforts to counteract fate, Oedipus and his family end up
playing right into their destined end, though Oedipus brings about his own
downfall due to his pride.
Though
his parents set into motion the series of events that would lead to the
prophecy’s fulfillment, Oedipus causes the exposure of the secret and thus his
own demise. Fate has little to do with this act; the blame rests solely on
Oedipus’ prideful need to know his lineage, which launches an investigation in
his past. Boldly, he states,
“Let it burst!
Whatever will, whatever must! I must know my birth, no matter how common it may
be – I must see my origins face-to-face. She perhaps, she with her woman’s
pride, may well be mortified by my birth, but I, I count myself the son of
Chance, the great goddess, giver of all good things – I’ll never see myself
disgraced. She is my mother! And the moons have marked me out, my
blood-brothers, one moon on the wane, the next moon great with power. That is
my blood, my nature – I will never betray it, never fail to search and learn my
birth!” (42, l. 1182-1194)
In any writing, but especially in
translated works, word choice is vastly significant. Since Oedipus the King is a play, meant to be performed, the words used
become even more important. The word choice in the passage above helps to
emphasize Oedipus’ incredibly strong feelings and the stubborn pride that eventually
ruins him. He describes his birth mother as “mortified,” which carries a much
stronger, more negative connotation than its cousin “embarrassed.” By accusing
his birth mother of being “mortified,” he unveils bitterness toward his birth
family, which helps to explain the rest of the passage. As he goes on, he
begins – rather ironically – to claim fate itself as his true family. He uses
flowery, flattering language to describe fate: a “goddess, giver of all good
things.” He says that the moons, another form of describing fate, have “marked”
him, which contributes to the piece’s overall dramatic irony. Finally, he
states that fate and the moons are his “blood” and his “nature,” affirming both
the idea of fate as natural and inescapable and, again, the heavy sense of
irony that only the audience can detect.
The
passage, while it certainly affirms Oedipus’ belief in fate, the presence of
fate in his life, and the strong feelings that spur on his decision, his decision
to pursue this knowledge adds nuance to the idea of an all-controlling fate.
Both in this instance and in the case of Oedipus’ parents, fate itself does not
directly cause the tragedy. Instead, the fault lies with the humans involved. Oedipus
felt his pride wounded and ordered the investigation, causing the truth to come
out and his life to disintegrate. His parents, in their attempts to rid
themselves of their cursed son, ended up ensuring that Oedipus grew up without
knowledge of his parents or the prophecy. Both decisions resulted from human choice,
though they played into the grand scheme of fate. The world presented by
Sophocles is perhaps not one where humans lack all choice, as it may seem at
first glance. Instead, human beings have the ability to choose their own
actions, though they will always choose the actions that fit into fate’s
design.
No comments:
Post a Comment