To what degree is Oedipus' life controlled by fate?
Oedipus learns that he is going to kill his father and marry his mother, so he flees from Corinth and Polybus and Merope because he believes they are his real parents, and he does not want to do what the prophecy said he would do. Oedipus tries to disprove the prophecy, so he travels far from any possibility of fulfilling that fate, only to encounter his real parents in Thebes. On the way there Oedipus kills his father, and when he arrives he marries his mother.
Although that part of his life was controlled by fate, was the rest, too?
The only predetermined parts of Oedipus' life were killing his father and marrying his mother. Although those were the only parts of his life determined by fate, they were fairly significant parts. Oedipus was able to survive his parents' death sentence because the shepherd and messenger allowed him to live in Corinth with adopted parents. Oedipus was supposed to find out his fate because it led him to leave his adopted parents, whom he thought were his real parents. He was predetermined to leave Corinth and return to Thebes so that he could encounter his real parents. Oedipus needed to kill his father at the crossroads, and later solve the sphinx's riddle so he could marry his mother. Fate controlled a huge part of Oedipus' life, but after his fate was fulfilled, he was able to use his free will. Oedipus used free will to decide whether or not he should flee or die after he discovered the truth about his birth father and mother. He also decided to blind himself; that was not fated. Ultimately, fate controlled the big parts of Oedipus' life until the fate of killing his father and marrying his mother was fulfilled.
Good question to consider, Jessie!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fascinating one, and one that bumps up against the question of free will all the time. I think it's a good idea, first of all, to think about these questions along a spectrum, because there are many things we do not have complete control over and we tend to think someone else "holds our fate" in their hands. However, this will always be somewhat true throughout life; we do have control over how we react, though, and what we do with what we are given. We can also control many of the things we are "given" as well. Fate, strictly speaking, is a predetermination, a shut door that has no wiggle room, so I think it's a good idea to consider using that word carefully, and choosing others when you're talking about the spectrum. The article about Germany, for example, uses that word loosely, and for greater dramatic effect, when talking about the European economy. Some of those countries gave over a degree of control when entering the union, and gave over further control when they recklessly spent their way into deep recession. I wouldn't call that fate, would you?
With regard to Oedipus, you're right, of course, and as I have mentioned in other blogs, it's really interesting to think about what he will do now that the gods have had their way with him; now that he has left the city and knows what he was fated for, perhaps he is able to feel truly free again. Perhaps that's what some people feel when they do something that is completely contrary to their personality. Maybe that's one of the messages that us modern people, who believe much more strongly in freedom, can take from this play: personality is our "fate," and we must be careful in deciding too early who we are, and being slaves to that vision of who we are. So as you decide to be an engineer, be careful with all the expectations that might go along with that. Be a quirky engineer, who also does things we wouldn't expect of an engineer!
On a final note, check out Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" (I think that's the title). Most people interpret it as a celebration of individuality and choice, and completely miss the point. If you read it carefully, as a whole, without putting undo emphasis on the last lines alone, it's really about how he wishes (as we all do) he could be two selves, and experience both paths, as it's hard to know that there's a whole alternate life that we might have experienced had we chosen X instead of Y. Your discussion of what it might have been like for you had you stayed in Illinois made me think of that poem. Nice work, Jessie!