Oedipus Rex Fate Vs Free Will Essay

Sophocles, in his work Oedipus Rex, creates a tension between the two main themes of his classic tragedy: fate and free will. The tension in the story is intended to make the reader contemplate how much free will we actually have in our lives. This tension begins in the middle of the story when we learn that an oracle prophesied to Laius, Oedipus’ father and the late king of Thebes, that he would be murdered by his own son. (ll. 784-788) Laius, trying to take his fate into his own hands, decides to get rid of his newborn son (Oedipus). However, instead of killing the child, he decides to cripple him and sends him to a mountain to die. (ll. 790-793) By getting rid of the child, Laius believes that he has escaped his fate. However, we find that his choice not to kill Oedipus himself later contributes to his own death and the fulfillment of the prophecy.

As fate would have it, baby Oedipus was saved by a shepherd who took him to Corinth.

(ll. 1119-1124) Oedipus was raised by the king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope, but later hears a startling accusation that leads him to Delphi on a search to find out if Polybus and Merope were truly his parents. However, instead of learning the truth about his birth, Oedipus is told that he will murder his father and lay with his mother. Hearing this, Oedipus decides to flee Corinth to escape his tragic fate. (ll. 868-880) However, it is ironically Oedipus’ decision to flee Corinth that leads to the fulfillment of the prophecy. While fleeing Corinth, Oedipus stumbles across a triple crossroad, where he kills his true father, Laius, and later reaches the city of Thebes.

(ll. 881-898) Oedipus becomes king of Thebes and marries Jocasta (his mother and the widow of Laius), thus fulfilling the prophecy. (ll. 294-296) Ironically, it was Laius and Oedipus’ attempts to escape their fates that led to the fulfillment of the prophecies. Oedipus and his father shared the same tragic flaw: their stubborn inability to stay out of the future. It is this tragic flaw that led to their faulty decisions and both of their downfalls. Had Laius not questioned his destiny in the beginning, his quest to stop his fate would never had happened and his fate, along with Oedipus’ fate, would never have been fulfilled. Sophocles is trying to show us that no matter how hard one tries to avoid their fate, they will never escape it; and the more they dwell on this fate, the harder their downfall will become.