“Oedipus is punished not for any fault in himself, but for his ignorance.Not knowing his family history, unable to recognize his parents on sight, he is blameless; and in slaying his father and marrying his mother, he behaves as any sensible person might behave in the same circumstances.” Do you agree with this interpretation?
What will be an ideal response?
- It’s true that Oedipus is unaware of who his real parents are, and true also that by leaving Corinth he does what he can to avoid fulfilling the prophecy. But even though there is a school of interpretation that sees Oedipus as the mere plaything of the gods, a puppet with no choice in the unfolding of his own fate, it still strikes us as something of a stretch to say that “he behaves as any sensible person might behave in the same circumstances.” It is questionable, to say the least, whether “any sensible person” would escalate a silly squabble over right of way into a murderous rampage. With his awareness of the curse that hangs over his head, it’s not going too far to say that Oedipus could play it a lot safer than he does, and that he is tempting fate in killing any man old enough to be his father and, especially, in marrying any woman old enough to be his mother.
Language Arts & World Languages
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