Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will

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Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex was written during the Greek era, at which time, it was a strong belief of the Greeks that one’s life was fated by the gods. Thus, the Greeks assumed that fate denied one’s use of free will. However, there were those who doubted the authority of the gods, and therefore the relevance of fate in their lives. In answer to this, Sophocles, a true believer in Greek lore, composed Oedipus Rex to present the helplessness of humanity when confronted by the gods through Oedipus, the tragic hero. Oedipus is chained to his destiny and can only exercise his freewill within that predestination: to kill his father and marry his mother. The play demonstrates Sophocles’ belief that fate is real and it restricts free will, but, after …show more content…
While free will exists to an extent, it is heavily restricted by the fate of the characters. Oedipus believes his real father is the king of Corinth, not the king of Thebes. He flees Corinth, in hope of evading his frightful prophecy. Oedipus “wandered farther and farther on [his] way to a land where [he] should never see the evil sung by the oracle…”(Page Number*), and yet, despite all of the measures taken to prevent his prophecy from coming true, it does. He truly believes that he has avoided his fate from coming true once he hears the message that his ‘father’ passed away from old age. He is overjoyed and exclaims to Jocasta: “They prophesied that I should kill my father! But he’s dead, and hidden deep within the earth, and I stand here who never laid a hand on spear against him...” (966-70). Oedipus only believes he has free will, but is still chained to his fate. This is also the case for Jocasta and Laius: they believe that they had successfully gotten rid of their only son and outwitted the fates. Jocasta confirms this when she tells Oedipus of the oracle who had spoken to her and Laius, declaring “[Laius] is doomed to perish by the hand of his own son, a child that should be born to him by [his wife]” (710-5). Believing that she had outsmarted fate, Jocasta hasd the confidence to mock the gods and their abilities. She explains to …show more content…
In this play, attention of the audience is mostly drawn to Oedipus discovering his tragedy, but the plot is driven by Oedipus’ execution of free will. He is not forced to find the murderer of the king and culprit of the plague, however he feels obligated to do so, as he is the new king. He feels indebted to the people, and uses his free will to hunt down the murderer, despite being told not to. Oedipus calls for Teiresias, the seer, to tell him who the culprit is, but Teiresias advises him to stop questioning. He insists on this saying, “just send me home. You bear your burdens, I'll bear mine. It's better that way, please believe me” (319-22). Oedipus angrily refuses this request, saying, “tell us, you villain, tell us, and do not stand there quietly...” (335-6). It is then revealed that Oedipus is the cause of the plague. Oedipus tries to sort this out and delves further into the truth. Jocasta, upon realizing that she is his mother, demands him to stop. She says sternly to Oedipus, “I beg you -- do not hunt this out -- I beg you, if you have any care for your life. What I am suffering is enough” (1060-3). Again, Oedipus refuses the request to halt his search for the truth, replying, “I will not be persuaded to let be the chance of finding out the whole thing clearly” (1065-6). He knows very well that the culprit may be himself, but, due to his honesty and goodwill, he is compelled to uncover
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