Motif Of Blindness In Oedipus The King

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In Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, the motif of blindness conveys the deep distinction between physically seeing and being mentally aware. When Oedipus lost his sight, all he had left was his knowledge and this caused him to learn things about himself that would not have otherwise been discovered. Oedipus tried to insult Teiresias by calling his life “one long night so that you cannot hurt me or any other who sees the light” (Sophocles 434-435). Oedipus believed that Teiresias is inadequate due to his loss of sight. In truth, Oedipus was the one who was blinded to his future, while Teiresias was able to clearly see the dreadful events in Oedipus’ fate. Oedipus continued to disparage Teiresias by saying that the Teiresias’ truth was not valid

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