Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Does the play end in total gloom?

It does indeed, especially for Oedipus, both literally and figuratively. Having gouged his own eyes out, he can't see a thing, and in the metaphorical sense he can't see any kind of way forward either. And it's not hard to see why—he's lost everything: his wife/mother, his kingdom, his reputation. The man is utterly destroyed.
However, there's still a glimmer of hope for Thebes. Now that the terrible truth about Oedipus's sordid past has been revealed, there's a chance for the city and its people to move on under the wise leadership of Creon. That's the theory, at any rate, because as we know from Antigone, Creon proves to be anything but a wise leader. But that's all in the future. For now, the Theban people can get over their troubles and look forward with some degree of confidence to a future without the man who inadvertently brought them so much misery and suffering.


It's pretty doom and gloom in the end. Jocasta has taken her own life, and Oedipus has scratched out his own eyes with the brooches from her robes. His children are revealed to be the monstrous offspring of a mother and son, and everyone now knows that Oedipus killed his own father and then sired children with the same woman who gave birth to him. He has banished himself from Thebes and will now be turned loose into the world, with nowhere to go and no one to comfort him. If there is one even remotely positive thing to come out of these events, it is that Creon, a person who has been revealed to be sagacious and wise, fair and thoughtful, will now rule Thebes. Compassionately, Creon even has Oedipus's daughters brought in to say goodbye to him. He ought to be a good and just ruler to help lead Thebes away from the tragedy of Oedipus and his family.

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