In the passage Jocasta is telling Oedipus not to worry and that he can not be the killer. First of all she has heard he had been killed by a group of foreigners. Secondly, her husband was destined to be defeated by one of his own making. That predestined son was left for dead in an abandoned area, with no way to defend itself against the elements and wild creatures. If Jocasta’s second reason had been true Oedipus would have been in the clear.
Jocasta’s second detail did not quite come to pass. The baby never made it to the trackless road. Instead he was pitied and given away to another shepherd. The shepherd of the Cithaeron slopes explains during his questioning that he was charged with the task of killing King Laius’s son, but could not do it. His reasoning for saving the child was “only pity for the babe”. He thought he could take him home and far away. Unfortunately that baby did return home as a grown-man and did fulfill the fate he was destined for him, the misfortune of killing his father and marrying his own mother.
There does not seem to have been way to get out of the prophecy’s clutches. The surest way to stop it was to have the child killed. That plan didn’t work and just caused major confusion. It is still King Laius’s fault that Oedipus’s fate turned out the way it had. Since the prophecy was, just that, a prophecy Laius had many ways to go about it. He could have noted that the fate for his son was not specific. It just said he would kill his father. It did not say if it was an accidental or intended event. In retrospect, the safest way to try to prevent the prophecy from being completed would have been to keep his son at home. As said before his decision to kill him, just lead to more confusion when the deed was not committed. Oedipus tried to break away from his parents, and leave his home. That way the prophecy would never be fulfilled. He was not aware that the couple he shared bread with, were not his biological parents. In his identity confusion he went into the world, intent to escape his “parents”, and ran straight into his real parents on the journey. They were just random people to him, because he was given to Polybus and Merope at too young an age to know the difference. Another way Oedipus might have taken destiny into his hands is if he never killed or married anyone in his lifetime. To suggest to Oedipus not marry or kill anyone during his lifetime would have left him, or anyone else in Ancient Greece, vulnerable and fruitless. In Greek life it was very dangerous and ridiculous to not have children or be unable to fight for fear of killing someone for anyone, especially a prince. That being so, Oedipus can not be to blame, because he had no idea who his parents were and his culture and environment prevented him from completely steering clear of his destiny. He put forth a valiant effort against it, but was defeated, because of a factor he couldn’t control, a false sense of identity. The only one who had control over that was King Laius. As a result he is to blame.
“Sins of the father are visited on the children” is a theme presented in a couple of Henrik Ibsen’s writings. This theme is a big part in Ghosts. When the play picks up, Mr. Alvings is already dead and buried and Oswald has come home to be with his recently widowed mother. Act II Oswald tells his mother that his mind has “broken down—gone to pieces” and he will not be able to work ever again. He then goes into explaining how in Paris he felt horrible pains in his back, neck, and back of the head. Foolishly he likened them to the headaches he experienced while growing up. Finally seeing a doctor he is diagnosed as “vermoulu”, or translated in English “worm-ridden”. The doctor then says, “Sins of the father are visited on the children.” The doctor is implying that Oswald’s condition is his fathers fault. At the end of the play Oswald sits motionless in an armchair repeatedly saying, “The sun–the sun.” What do these instances suggest? All of the symptoms Oswald present point to the STD syphilis. The headaches he experiences as a child are the result of the second stage of the disease. The adult Oswald’s pains, oncoming insanity, and paralysis are effects caused by the final and last stage of syphilis also known as the tertiary stage. The happy years in between these attacks were results of the STD’s latency period. How does someone contract this disease? One way is through sexual relations with an infected person, or getting the disease from your mother. She could contract the STD fooling around with other people or having sex with the father after he has been fooling around. The only character reported to have done the sleeping around is Mr. Alvings. With that being so, it is because of his infidelity that Oswald has this horrible “inner sickness.”
Oswald’s failed crack at getting Regina to be in a relationship has two problems. One he has a disease of the body that affects the mind and it would be incestuous for them to be together. The syphilis has already been pinned as Mr. Alvings doing, but what about Regina being Oswald’s step-sister? That is Mr. Alvings doing too. Regina is revealed to be the product of his affair with the former housemaid Johanna. These factors are too much for Regina and she decides to leave the house altogether. In the process Oswald’s heart is crushed and is pushed towards suicide. These problems originate from the father, Mr. Alvings, outer-marital relations.
The fathers in the plays Oedipus Rex and Ghosts affected their sons’ lives. King Laius basically paved the way for Oedipus’s walk of self-destruction, while trying to save his own life. Mr. Alvings in disregard to the consequences had multiple sexual encounters outside his marriage. The birth of a “worm-ridden” Oswald and Regina are what became of it. While looking out for themselves, the two dads ended up impairing the future of their offspring.
