Possibly the single most tragic case of discovering true identity is Oedipus, from Sophocles' good old Oedipus Rex.
For those who don't know, Oedipus is the cursed son of a cursed father, fated to commit patricide and marry his own mother. It really is a sorrowful tale, because Oedipus is guilty of one fatal flaw: he is consumed with a desire to know.
When Oedipus' city of Thebes is ravaged by plague and natural disaster, covered with the misery of thousands of citizens, and consumed with endless suffering, the king begins his quest for answers. Sending a messenger to Delphi to consult a holy Oracle, Oedipus learns that the cause of all the agony of Thebes is that the murderer of the former king Laius still lives. As Oedipus begins to search for the murderer, he also unearths secrets of his own past. The people he thought were his parents were not related to him by any blood ties. A highway altercation with an older, kingly man takes on new sinister meanings. His own wife Jocasta begins to appear...motherly. Still, despite repeated pleadings from all who love him, Oedipus demands the truth. He seeks, with his characteristic unerrring honesty, to know, to understand. His great courage compels him to look into that which he fears, dregging up pain from the past in an effort to right wrongs, save a city, find out who he is.
It is this searching, this continual looking beyond, that ultimately leads to the loss of Oedipus' crown and his ability to look at anything ever again.
So what do we learn from Oedpius that we can use to help us with our big question?
For those who don't know, Oedipus is the cursed son of a cursed father, fated to commit patricide and marry his own mother. It really is a sorrowful tale, because Oedipus is guilty of one fatal flaw: he is consumed with a desire to know.
When Oedipus' city of Thebes is ravaged by plague and natural disaster, covered with the misery of thousands of citizens, and consumed with endless suffering, the king begins his quest for answers. Sending a messenger to Delphi to consult a holy Oracle, Oedipus learns that the cause of all the agony of Thebes is that the murderer of the former king Laius still lives. As Oedipus begins to search for the murderer, he also unearths secrets of his own past. The people he thought were his parents were not related to him by any blood ties. A highway altercation with an older, kingly man takes on new sinister meanings. His own wife Jocasta begins to appear...motherly. Still, despite repeated pleadings from all who love him, Oedipus demands the truth. He seeks, with his characteristic unerrring honesty, to know, to understand. His great courage compels him to look into that which he fears, dregging up pain from the past in an effort to right wrongs, save a city, find out who he is.
It is this searching, this continual looking beyond, that ultimately leads to the loss of Oedipus' crown and his ability to look at anything ever again.
So what do we learn from Oedpius that we can use to help us with our big question?
- We create fate. The fall of the House of Oedipus was foretold by the gods, but it was Oedipus himself, his personality, his drive to know, that ultimately brought about the fall. He crafted his own fate with his own soul.
- It is vitally important to recognize our strengths and weaknesses as human beings and how to use these strengths and weaknesses, rather than be ruled by them. Oedipus' enormous pride, his temper, his inability to trust others, his incredible impatience: all contribute to his downfall, helped by his better qualities of courage, honesty, and curiousity.
- To quote another wonderful play, Hamlet: "We know what we are, but not what we may be." There is more (good, bad, ugly, beautiful, powerful, strong, etc) to everyone than meets the eye.
EYE hope you remember that when you think back on Oedipus!
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