The Guilt Of Oedipus The King

The scholar Vellacott writes on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex that “if [Oedipus] was to avoid heinous pollutions, he must make for himself two unreadable rules; never to kill an older man; and never to marry an older woman.” This is a highly unfair assessment of Oedipus’ character, and expects too much of any human. Oedipus’ innocence is shown in the fact that he was ignorant of his true origins, he was only human, and he was subject to fate. According to Polybus and Merope, Oedipus was their son. One cannot blame Oedipus for his misguided belief in his parentage, because he had no reason to question it. No blame should fall on Oedipus for not believing his parents, just as no blame would fall on anybody else for not trusting what was told to them by their mother or father. Based on Oedipus’ knowledge, that was limited by the actions of others, he was making the hard but honorable choice by leaving Corinth. He was willing to leave behind his royalty and become a beggar to spare his “parents” pain and suffering. In reality, blame would fall more appropriately on Polybus and Merope for lying to their son. If they had been honest with Oedipus,
the entire predicament could have been avoided. Many people argue that Oedipus knew Polybus and Merope were not his parents, or at least he had doubts. This argument is based on the fact that a drunken man let it slip that Oedipus was not the king’s true son. However, Oedipus had no reason to trust a man who had a bit too much wine in his cup. All humans have flaws, including Oedipus. Unlike most humans’ flaws, like greed and anger, Oedipus’ flaws were determination and persistence. Although good in moderation, Oedipus takes these attributes to the extreme which leads him to not give up the search for Laius’ killer. This is no reason to condemn Oedipus, or believe he deserved his fate. His only crimes are trying too hard to avenge Laius and caring too much for the Theban people. He did nothing wrong to deserve his fate. His prophecy was created right after he was born or even before that. Beyond this, Oedipus was well within his rights to fight back after Laius attacked him. It was also not unheard of, especially if she was in control of a city like Thebes. The most unfortunate thing about Oedipus is that he was subject to fate.
If we can conclude that all of Oedipus’ actions were predestined, then these rules would have no true effect at all. Oedipus might have accidentally or unknowingly killed Laius later in life. This would have been similar to the myth of Perseus, who fulfilled his prophecy by unknowingly hitting and killing his grandfather Acrisius with a discus. By this logic, the blame would fall solely on the gods and the Fates, and Oedipus is truly the hero of the play. He was willing to go against prophecy and fight courageously in the face of defeat. Many people challenge this saying that Oedipus had free will and his actions were all his own. This is contradicted by the fact that Teiresias prophesied the one action Oedipus believed he had control of; his blinding
himself. Oedipus’ lack of these two rules, never to kill an older man and never to marry an older woman, does not imply guilt in any way. Oedipus had limited knowledge of the truth, was human, and was subject to fate. In reality, Oedipus is the only innocent one in the play; Polybus and Merope lied to their adopted son, Laius and Jocasta attempted to kill their son, and the gods wove this terrible fate.