Sophocles of Kolōnos was one of the most famous writers of tragedy in ancient Greece. His long life allowed him to write many famous classics including Oedipus Rex. In this essay, I will examine the theme of blindness in Oedipus Rex.
Blindness is a theme we commonly see in Oedipus Rex. However, we do not just see physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well.
Oedipus started life with a prophecy that he would murder his father and marry his mother. In trying to avoid this fate, Oedipus’ parents, Laius and Jocasta, abandoned him in the mountains to die. However, a shepherd found Oedipus. The shepherd who was instructed to kill Oedipus had sympathy for him and thought it would be best for Oedipus to grow up in a faraway city and never meet his biological parents. The shepherd brought Oedipus to the city of Corinth where he was raised by Polybus and Merope, members of the royal family. Oedipus grew up assuming he was that the royal family was his biological family. Nobody told Oedipus that he was adopted. This is the first scene where Oedipus was “blind” to the truth of his history that would eventually lead him to his downfall.
Oedipus eventually discovered his family’s history when he overheard a drunk man saying that Oedipus was not his father’s son. After the drunk man told him who his birth parents were, Oedipus assured it was false and became angry at the man. However, Oedipus still went to see an oracle. The oracle told him that Oedipus was destined to marry his mother and murder his father.
Oedipus, afraid of fulfilling the prophecy, fled from Corinth. As Oedipus was leaving Corinth, a group of travelers harassed him forcing Oedipus to kill them in self-defense. He arrived at Thebes whose king was recently murdered and was busy trying to solve a riddle. Oedipus easily solved the riddle, and the citizens of Thebes were so impressed with his intelligence, they named Oedipus the “King of Thebes.” While everyone was praising him, Oedipus was led to believe that he was superior than everyone. This cockiness helped to contribute to Oedipus’ blindness from the previous situation.
As Oedipus was king of Thebes, the city started to suffer a horrendous plague that would only go away if the former king, Laius, was killed or banished from the city. All the citizens had respect and confidence in Oedipus and begged him to help so they would not die. Oedipus sends a blind prophet named Tiresias to supply information about the murder of Laius. However, Tiresias only answers the truth but regrets answering. Oedipus, confused at first, became angry and insisted that Tiresias tell Thebes what he knows. Tiresias, angry at Oedipus, hints at his knowledge. Finally, Oedipus accuses Tiresias of murdering Laius. Oedipus and Tiresias exchange insults and Tiresias mocks Oedipus saying that he does not even know who his parents are. Intrigued and enraged by this statement, Oedipus asks for the truth of his parentage. Tiresias only responds in riddles, stating that the murderer of Laius will turn out to be brother and father of his children and both son and husband to the mother.
At this moment, Oedipus realizes he may have been mistaken about his knowledge of truth for his entire life. Oedipus tells his wife, Jocasta, about the events that just happened. Oedipus was informed that there was a survivor who was with the group of Laius at the time of the murder. Oedipus requests this survivor to come to Corinth and identify if Oedipus was Laius’ killer. The man returns to Corinth and recognizes Oedipus as Laius’ killer. Jocasta, disgusted with the fulfilling of the prophecy, hung herself. When Oedipus discovered her body, he took the pins out of her clothes and pierced his eyes so that he would not see the harm he caused due to his blindness of knowledge about the truth of his history.
Oedipus’ “blindness” of the truth about his past caused him to have the same fate that was prophesized early on. Even though his parents tried everything they could to prevent it from happening, Oedipus’ lack of knowledge led to his and his family’s demise.
Another way of analyzing the theme of blindness is looking at Oedipus and Tiresias. Oedipus, who can see physically, believes that he can discover who the murderer of King Laius. However, Oedipus is blind to the fact that he is guilty and is unaware of fulfilling the part of the prophecy where he marries his mother. On the other hand, Tiresias is physically blind, but can “see” the truth and make predictions. He also knows the truth about Oedipus but does not want to reveal this painful reality.
This play is full of references to sight and blindness. All of these contribute to Sophocles’ ideas about truth being a matter of perception.
This is significant because Oedipus mocks Tiresias for being blind and doubts his ability, to tell the truth about the murderer of Laius as Tiresias was unable to see it happen. Tiresias’ may be physically blind, but it is Oedipus who is truly blind because he does not recognize the truth. It is ironic how Oedipus does not see the truth while a blind man does.
Oedipus overwhelmed by the truth, blinded himself as some refuge to hide from the light of the truth. This refuge of darkness allows Oedipus to reflect on his actions and mistakes. However, this does not solve the problem. Oedipus blinding himself, was an act of cowardice as he does not want to accept the situation but instead decides not to see it at all.
Thus, in Oedipus Rex, the sight reflects the character’s knowledge of their destinies. Oedipus attempts to hide from this sight and tries to escape it no matter what.