Self-Binding In Oedipus The King

When you think of a King, what comes to mind? A honest and truly hardworking man? Or a deceptive and cruel man? Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, explores the timeline where a King hopes for the best for his country but ironically destroyed it before. Sophocles brings on the original concept where one man reveals to his city his intentions, but doesn’t realize that those intentions would bring about his downfall. Previously, before knowing the truth, Oedipus exclaims to his people of how he will do his best for the people and bring the murderer of the previous king to justice. With this being said, Oedipus’s act of self-binding, at the end, is an authentic act of self-definition because of his motivation to help the people through his self-binding,
Originally, this is introduced in the conversation with Tiresias where Oedipus, having no idea that he is the center of all this disarray, believes that he is just a king that simply wants to avenge the previous king. Tiresias begins by refusing to “reveal my dreadful secrets, or rather, yours” (21) and goes on to the point of depleting the patience of Oedipus. This leads to Oedipus beginning to suspect whether or not his life was a complete lie. In the beginning, Oedipus claims that he is the one who can see while all others are blind. However, after one defining moment, it dawns on Oedipus that he himself was blind the entire time and that he is not who he thinks he is. Wanting to free himself from this blindness, Oedipus searches only to find the horrifying truth - the prophecy already occurred. In shock, Oedipus reveals to all that he was “born in shame, married in shame, and an unnatural murderer.” (89). Realizing that everything actually revolved around him, he exiles himself in “honor” of the curse he put up on the murderer saying to Creon to “take me away from here at once” (107). If Oedipus was not genuine, then he could have easily disregarded the curse he put up and continued to rule as king. Instead, Oedipus lives up to his code and accepts his
When all else fails and his throne is taken out of his hands, his last hope is his children, specifically his daughters, - Antigone and Ismene. As Oedipus is dragged out of view, he exclaims,”No, don’t take them away from me,” (107). Even though Oedipus has nothing left, he still holds a place of love for his children in his heart, showing that he is not all arrogant as he seems. Furthermore, he is shown in complete sadness, being at the side of the deceased Jocasta. After barging into the room where Jocasta lay, he sees her and gives a “deep dreadful cry of sorrow and loosened the rope round her neck” (93). Believing that everything is his fault, he stabs himself in the eyes with sorrow. On the other hand, during the time Oedipus is unaware of the truth, he pledges to his people that he will most certainly catch the murderer who brought upon the demise of Laius. He acknowledges that under any circumstance the murderer will be caught, even if he/she resides in his own household. However, if with his own knowledge, the murderer stays in the house of Oedipus; “in that case he, himself, be subject to all the curses that he called down on the people” (15), This shows his determination to catch the murderer as cursing oneself is a courageous feat in that one must have complete confidence that they are doing the right thing. This act of bravery, once again, shows the genuine emotion of need to