Causes Of Hubris In Oedipus
Throughout his journey through self-discovery, Oedipus exerts many hubris-filled tendencies. Sophocles did this for a specific reason, but some argue that this is the essential cause to his downfall at the end. I disagree with this statement and here is why: Oedipus’ hubris didn’t hurt him earlier in life, hubris has no connection to the conflict in his story, and the conflict would have arose without his hubris. Oedipus was likely always a proud man and showed it. “Oedipus whom all men call the Great” (7). He was the son of a king (not the one he thought, but that’s besides the point) and was then a king himself. Before Oedipus started searching for Laius’ killer, he felt on top of the world. “I would be very hard should I not pity suppliants like these” (11). Since this never hurt him earlier in life, it likely had no effect on the situation this time either. Not only did hubris not affect the downfall, but it really couldn’t have because the two are completely unrelated. Whether or not Oedipus wore his pride on his sleeve, the
…show more content…
killing and incest were still there. “If you are the man he says you are, you’re bred to misery” (1361). It was still the reality of the situation and hubris couldn’t have changed that. In fact, if anything, hubris would have slowed how quickly Oedipus found out through denial, such as when Oedipus was confused as to why Jocasta was upset, but this is unlikely as well. “Here, some one, go and fetch the shepherd for me; 1225 and let her find her joy in her rich family! (1224). To find the real cause of his downfall, let’s look back at how he found out the truth.
Well it was only after Creon told Oedipus that he must find Laius’ killer that his life came crashing down. “The God commanded cleary: let some one punish with force this dead man’s murderers” (125). He was just trying to save the city of Thebes by righting the wrongs the Oracles said to. “What is the rite of purification? How shall it be done?” (116). So even if Oedipus hadn’t shown hubris, he would’ve gone down the same path and discovered his true origins. So in conclusion, Oedipus didn’t need hubris to ruin his life. Destiny and reality did that enough for him. Hubris did nothing to change the situation except make the “tragic downfall” more dramatic and harsh on Oedipus. What can be taken from this is that correlation isn’t causation. Just because he showed his pride doesn’t mean that had anything to do with the main conflict of the
story.
killing and incest were still there. “If you are the man he says you are, you’re bred to misery” (1361). It was still the reality of the situation and hubris couldn’t have changed that. In fact, if anything, hubris would have slowed how quickly Oedipus found out through denial, such as when Oedipus was confused as to why Jocasta was upset, but this is unlikely as well. “Here, some one, go and fetch the shepherd for me; 1225 and let her find her joy in her rich family! (1224). To find the real cause of his downfall, let’s look back at how he found out the truth.
Well it was only after Creon told Oedipus that he must find Laius’ killer that his life came crashing down. “The God commanded cleary: let some one punish with force this dead man’s murderers” (125). He was just trying to save the city of Thebes by righting the wrongs the Oracles said to. “What is the rite of purification? How shall it be done?” (116). So even if Oedipus hadn’t shown hubris, he would’ve gone down the same path and discovered his true origins. So in conclusion, Oedipus didn’t need hubris to ruin his life. Destiny and reality did that enough for him. Hubris did nothing to change the situation except make the “tragic downfall” more dramatic and harsh on Oedipus. What can be taken from this is that correlation isn’t causation. Just because he showed his pride doesn’t mean that had anything to do with the main conflict of the
story.