Pride in Oedipus and Othello

Pride in Oedipus and Othello

In literature, the tragic heroes Oedipus and Othello allow the pride they have to cause their own demise by putting too much emphasis on the lives they have created for themselves. Oedipus, who blinds himself after finding out he has killed his birth father and married his birth mother, refuses to believe he has truly fulfilled his fate because he is so proud of what he has accomplished since he left Corinth. Othello demonstrates his pride by believing that the people closest to him would never betray him because of his powerful position as a General of the armies in Venice. Both characters example of hubris, or excessive pride, causes the downfall in their lives, which eventually leads to life-long blindness for Oedipus and death for Othello.

A first glimpse of Oedipus’ pride is seen when he is speaking to the prophet Teiresias and refuses to believe he is actually responsible for killing the previous king of Thebes who happens to be his father. Teiresias tells Oedipus multiple times that his fate has been fulfilled and that Oedipus really did murder Laïos, however Oedipus is unbelieving of what Teiresias has to say.

“Teiresias: I say that you are the murder whom you seek.

Oedipus: Now twice you have spat out infamy! You’ll pay for it!

Teiresias: Would you care for more? Do you wish to be really angry?

Oedipus: Say what you will. Whatever you say is worthless.

Teiresias: I say you live in hideous shame with those most dear to you. You can not see the evil” (Sophocles 171 lines 144-159).

Teiresias blatantly tells Oedipus the truth of what is happening around him, and Oedipus dismisses all he says. Oedipus’ pride blinds him to all the evidence that points to him as the murderer of his own father. When Iocastê tells Oedipus the details of Laïos’s murder, Oedipus is too ignorant to see that he was the one who murdered the previous king and placed a curse upon himself.

“Oedipus: I solemnly forbid the people of this country, where power and throne are mine, ever to receive that man or speak to him, no matter who he is, or let him join in sacrifice, lustration, or in prayer. I decree that he be driven from every house, being, as he is, corruption itself to us: the Delphic Voice of Zeus has pronounced this revelation. Thus I associate myself with the oracle and take the side ...

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...is pride, he doesn’t want people to know that he killed his wife out of jealousy that was fabricated by a jealous man. He wants people to believe that it was his love that caused the murder; that he loved too much and not that he was really trying to avenge his pride and save himself from realizing he has lost everything he worked so hard to earn.

Pride caused the death of 2 innocent people in Othello; however, Oedipus becoming blind and having to live with the mistakes he made is a fate worse than death. A tragic flaw seen in both characters is the amount of pride each one possesses. Both men had the opportunity to be ordinary and to be able to get by, yet that was not good enough for either of them. Oedipus and Othello felt they could achieve more than what was put in front of them and in the process of becoming great men; they unfortunately meet their end. It is proven through Oedipus and Othello that pride is not a bad thing when it is used appropriately; however, too much pride can ruin not just one life, but also the many lives that are surrounded by that one life. By putting too much emphasis on their lives, Othello and Oedipus are responsible for their own demise.