To what extent is Oedipus responsible for his own fate?

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Oedipus and Fate

To what extent is Oedipus responsible for his own fate?

In looking at the play Oedipus Rex I found several possibilities surrounding his fate. Firstly, we could make the assumption that perhaps as destiny controls all fates, then Oedipus' character was created long before he was conceived. On the other hand, we could also say that perhaps Oedipus' horrific fate came about because of his character. The third possibility is that everything is inevitable - therefore no one ever has had any say in their own fate, let alone Oedipus.

The first explanation to this question is the idea that destiny makes character. As destiny, supposedly in the Greek mindset, maps out all events before they occur, we can today assume with this logic that perhaps the components that "built" Oedipus' character were caused by fate. We know today that character is determined by biological factors and experience. These biological factors would have been determined by how well he was fed, how well he developed, his genes etc. The experience would have also been determined by the pre-destined master plan of Fate. Thus it is possible to argue that Oedipus, as components of his character and mind, was entirely shaped by fate and therefore cannot be held responsible for what he has done, as he has no control over his actions.

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But the grounds that these arguments are based on are essentially unreliable. In my opinion, fate does not exist. Yet, as this is a personal choice similar to religious belief in the sense that there can be no definitive argument for or against, we cannot rationally conclude decisively either way. Yet if would be interesting to note that as this play is constructed along the lines of Aristotle's theory of tragedy, the way in which the play is constructed would try to convey the sentiment that fate was the overriding factor and thus could be a valid basis for the ...

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