Sacrifice In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Oedipus Rex is a play that many consider one of the best Greek tragedies ever made. Written by Sophocles in 429 B.C., this play highlights the faults of the main character which eventually results in his demise. Oedipus, being the protagonist of the play, is king of the city of Thebes. He’s living a happy life as king until a curse falls upon the city which wreaks havoc on the kingdom. After consulting the Oracle of Delphi, Oedipus realizes that the only way to fix the curse would be to find who killed the previous king, King Laius. After piecing together the puzzle, Oedipus soon realizes that he was the one who killed his Laius. Not only did he kill him, but Laius was actually his father and Jocasta, his wife, was his mother. Jocasta then hangs herself and Oedipus gouges his eyes out resulting in the prophecy being completed that was bestowed upon Oedipus at his birth. Jocasta is quoted saying, “for your sake, I want the best for you!” (1171). Oedipus then replies with, “Your best is more than I can bear”
Obviously Jocasta is going through a lot of emotions at this juncture in the play. She feels lots of love for Oedipus and she is beginning to realize what is exactly going and because she loves Oedipus she doesn’t want him to get hurt over it. She knows that he will not be able to take the news well and she even tries to convince him to not chase after the truth, not for her, but rather for himself. When Oedipus responds with, “Your best is more than I can bear” (1172), he has a lot of different emotions racing through him. He knows that he is getting closer toward the truth but I think he is so wrapped up in search for truth, he basically becomes blind to it. He no longer sees reality how it is, but rather sees it for what he wants it to be. This proves to later be Oedipus’s downfall as he is so wrapped up in his own reality, he doesn’t see the actual truth until it’s right in his