There are also several other examples of Oedipus’ plain ignorance, for example, the fact that he curses the killer of Laius, henceforth cursing himself, or scolding Teiresias saying that “Blind, lost in the night, endless night that nursed you! You can’t hurt me or anyone else who sees the light-you can never touch me.” Here Oedipus is suggesting that Teiresias is instantly inferior to anyone who can see, including himself, and therefore poses no threat to them. Oedipus is dreadfully wrong, and Teiresias knows he is, because in this case, the fact that Oedipus has the advantage of sight over Teiresias has no value in comparison to the knowledge of the truth that Teiresias has. This is yet another example of dramatic irony. It would appear to an outsider that Oedipus is above Teiresias since Teiresias is blind to so much of what Oedipus can see, however the knowledge of what happened to King Laius and who Oedipus really is, is respectively far more important. A lot of the irony of Oedipus’ blindness also occurs at the end of the play, when Oedipus makes himself literally and physically blind. “…, he digs them down the sockets of his eyes, crying, 'You, you'll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind from this hour on! Blind in the darkness-blind!'" (46) At this point, Oedipus is confirming a line said early by Teiresius that “to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees!” (6). Oedipus is now in exactly the same position that Teiresius was when he mocked him, physically blind but seeing the truth.
Teiresius, the blind prophet, happens to be one of the very few people to know who Oedipus really is and what he has done. He knows that because he possesses this information he is at a certain advantage over everyone, even considering the fact that he is blind, however he wishes he did not know the truth, and this is evident when he says “How terrible – to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees!” (6). Teiresias wishes he did not know the truth because he knows it is traumatizing and will leave a lot of people distraught when revealed. Teiresius knows and wishes he doesn’t, and on the contrary Oedipus doesn’t know and is desperate to. Simultaneously, speaking in literal terms, Oedipus has the means to “see the truth” whilst Teiresius does not. This quote on page 6 also using foreshadowing to hint to the audience that with truth comes pain, and we know that at the end of the play upon discovering that he himself murdered King Laius, Oedipus gouges his eyes out which obviously brings with it a lot of pain. Teiresius tries to make several hints to Oedipus of what is coming his way, for example on pg. 11 whe he says “You with your precious eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life, to the house you live in, those who live with - who are your parents?”. This is a direct reference to Oedipus being blind about who he is and where he comes from, however Oedipus doesn’t think anything of it other than what he perceives as an attack from Teiresius. As a result of this, Oedipus tries to defend himself by mocking Teiresius about being blind. Teiresius replies with a line which contains strong foreshadowing, and clearly states what Sophocles is trying to tell the audience about blindness; “You mock my blindness do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes, are blind” (33).
So what is a blind seer? By definition, a seer means both a prophet and a person who can see. This creates yet another example of dramatic irony in the play that may not be as obvious as many of the other examples. We know that Teiresius is a prophet, however he can not see, on the other hand Oedipus can see, but does not have light to the real truth until the seer (as in prophet, being Teiresius) reveals it to him. Both Teiresius and Oedipus are blind seers in their own ways, and each in several ways. Oedipus is a blind seer by the literal definitions, being that he used to be a seer and is now blind. Oedipus is also a blind seer in the way that he is a seer (someone who sees), but is blind to the truth. Teiresius on the other hand, is a blind seer in its second literal definition, being a prophet who is blind. He is also a blind seer in the sense that he is literally blind, but figuratively a seer. This phrase has 4 interpretations, all correct, and all adding to the dramatic irony of the play. The two characters’ progressions throughout the play, Teiresius’ from the blind prophet to the all-knowing man who sees reveals the truth to the city, and Oedipus progression from the admirable King of Thebes who seeks the truth until he finds it, making himself blind, contrast each other, but in reality are more similar than one would expect.
