The Main Idea of “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Summary of the Play
The Lesson
A Typical Pattern
Conclusion
References

Introduction

“Oedipus Rex,” an Ancient Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, presents a story of King Oedipus, who made an attempt to challenge his fate but lost. The inevitability of destiny is the main idea of the play, and the last lines support that: nobody should name a mortal happy until this mortal faces everything that destiny has for them. Oedipus’s tragic final proves this lesson true.

Summary of the Play

The story of “Oedipus Rex” revolves around Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who was unsuccessfully trying to avoid his curse. When he was born, the oracle told his parents that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. Scared, the parents tried to kill the baby, but Oedipus survived and was adopted. Later, he learned about the prophecy and escaped from his adopted parents to prevent the curse from happening. However, he was not acquainted with his real parents, so eventually, he did kill his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta, thus becoming the king of Thebes. Fifteen years later, a plague epidemic occurs in Thebes, and an oracle requires that the murderer of Laius be found. Thus, Oedipus finds out the truth. His mother kills herself because of the dishonor, and Oedipus gouges his own eyes out.

The Lesson

The last lines of the play present the primary idea of the entire play:

So while we wait to see that final day,
we cannot call a mortal being happy
before he’s passed beyond life free from pain (1812-1814).

These words finish the story of a man, who desperately tried to avoid his curse, to ensure his happiness, but, as the chorus makes the spectators know, all the efforts to escape one’s fate are in vain. The only time when you finally can name a person happy is when they are already dead. Sophocles presents a character, who attempts to challenge gods’ will, but remains forceless (Yuehua, 2006, p. 48), the problem that can be called “the interplay of fate and free will” (Johnston, 2000, n.p.). The dilemma of the play is that Oedipus suffers either because of his own wrong decisions or because of his ill fate (Bartels & Bartels, 2001, p. 131). Fate is the strongest – and the scariest – concept in the play, it is strange and powerful. As Stuart Lawrence notes, fate in “Oedipus Rex” does not coincide with human moral standards; it is terribly cruel and unjust (2008, p. 15). There is no way to avoid fate; as Jocasta tries to convince Oedipus:

Why should a man whose life seems ruled by chance
live in fear – a man who never looks ahead,
who has no certain vision of his future?
It’s best to live haphazardly, as best one can (1161-1164).

Therefore, the lesson of the play is that running from one’s destiny is a vain thing to do: destiny will find you. The relevance of this lesson is confirmed by the story of Oedipus’s life: all the predicted things came true, despite his struggle.

A Typical Pattern

Such an unoptimistic frame is not unusual for an Ancient Greek tragedy. It is essential that the task of the latter is not to honor heroic deeds; it is to explore the destruction and dilemmas caused by heroic activity (Buxton, 2007, p. 167).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the main idea of the play, concentrated in the last lines, is that there is no way a mortal can escape their fate. Only a real person can be named happy. Oedipus’s life story proves this lesson true.

References

Bartels, D., & Bartels, A.L. (2001). Image of Oedipus. Dialectical Anthropology, 26(2), 125-135.

Buxton, R. (2007). Tragedy and Greek Myth. In R.D. Woodard (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology (pp. 166-189). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Johnston, I.C. (2000). Fate, Freedom, and the Tragic Experience: An Introductory Lecture on Sophocles’s Oedipus the King. Web.

Lawrence, S. (2008). Apollo and his purpose in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus. Studia Humaniora Tartuensia, 9(1), 1-18. Web.

Sophocles, & Johnston, I. C. (2007). Oedipus the King. Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications.

Yuehua, G. (2006). Oedipus Rex: Fate, truth and self-will. Canadian Social Science, 2(2), 45-49.

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