Human responsibility plays a large role here also, as it is ultimately Œdipus’ personality that makes him run away from his parents and all the decisions that he makes thereafter. Œdipus would have been aware that a person’s fate cannot be escaped, yet like Jocaste, who in leaving him on the hillside was desperately trying to avoid that which had been prophesised, he thought he could outwit the Gods – arguably a blatant demonstration of arrogance on his part. Though perhaps Œdipus personality is the result of his surroundings and upbringing, ultimately, he decided to leave and it was his temper that caused him to kill his father. He was not forced by anyone, and it was not done in self-defence. Similarly, his ‘enthusiastic’ personality helped him to forget that he had taken a life until many years later, “...je n’ai pas tué Polybe, mais...j’ai tué une homme”.
The second event which is integral to the play, is the defeat of the sphinx. This is an important connection that had to be made between Œdipus’ old life, and the one which he would inevitably enter with Jocaste. A dramatic occurrence was needed both to bring the two together, and to raise Œdipus to a high status of respect and honour, “Pour que les dieux s’amusent beaucoup, il importe que leur victime tombe de haut”
It could be argued therefore that Fate dictated that he would defeat the sphinx, in order to achieve this criterion of the prophecy. Œdipus’ fate compels him to search out the sphinx to merit Jocaste’s hand in marriage, “Si je tue le Sphinx...La reine Jocaste est veuve, je l’épouserai”. It was also the Sphinx’s decision to allow Œdipus to guess the riddle. Though, she seems to have shown pity towards him, he was destined to succeed in order for him to marry Jocaste, and her benevolence was therefore wasted.
One could argue that chance did not play a significant role in this situation. It was perhaps chance that the Sphinx liked Œdipus and at that time had grown weary of killing, “...si tu n’avais eu le privilège de me plaire”. However, in my opinion, human responsibility was crucial to this part of the play, as traits of Œdipus’ personality such as his ambition and thirst for glory, “J’aime les foules qui pietient...le bonheur, la chance, vivre enfin!” prompted him to search out the Sphinx and become fixated on defeating it. His naïvety is what prevents him from seeing the trap he is walking into here :
“ - Une femme qui pourrait etre votre mère!
- L’essentiel est qu’elle ne le soit pas”.
In addition, his charming personality and flirtatious behaviour, “Puis-je vous demander votre nom?” are important in convincing the Sphinx to spare him, and give him the answer to the riddle. Finally, the Sphinx gives Œdipus her human remains to take as evidence of his success, and therefore helps him on his way towards his tragic end. Had Œdipus been more sensitive, she might have warned him of the mistake he was making, yet he was too vain to thank her, leading her to encourage him on his route to self-destruction, “Vous ramènerez ma dépouille à Thèbes et l’avenir vous récompensera...selon vos mérites”.
The third and final occurrence which I will use to assess the roles of fate, chance and human responsibility within the play, is the suicide and self-inflicted blindness which follow the revelation revealed in the final act.
Up until this point, Fate had been the driving force behind the events which have taken place within the last seventeen years. We now reach the situation which has been set up and developed over the years to raise Œdipus to a status from which it would be please the Gods for him to fall from. It is chance that Polybe died at this time, after Jocaste and Œdipus have produced four children, but during this scene, I believe that Œdipus is responsible for the unveiling of how he has fulfilled his fate perfectly. One might argue that in expressing joy at the death of someone whom he believed to be his natural father, he is punished by the discovery of his adoption, “...vous n’étiez que son fils adoptif”.
As Tiresias points out, Œdipus likes to know everything, and as he pushes the messenger for more information, it is he himself who is responsible for the outcome of this scene, and the play in general, “...j’interrogerai sans crainte”. Yet, Œdipus cannot even be said to be honourable at this point, as he falsely blames Tiresias of having forced him to admit his crime, “...vous m’avez poussé à dire que j’étais un assassin...”.
Human responsibility becomes more evident when it is revealed how both Jocaste and Œdipus lied to each other, “Mon histoire de chasse...fausse come tant d’autres”, “Jocaste a dû mettre son crime sur le compte d’une de ses servantes”. At this point, Jocaste is tortured by that which she has ignored or been unaware of throughout her marriage, and Œdipus is similarly delirious, “...c’est fini...fini” before blinding himself.
Jocaste and Œdipus have displayed the same personality traits as they try to outwit the Gods, by running away from or abandoning that which connects them to the fate which has been prophesised. Their naivety is displayed at numerous points throughout, and in Œdipus’ case, the words are even said to him, “Une femme qui pourrait etre votre mère!”, making his ignorance pathetic, if not comedic. Human responsibility is the last factor which plays a major role in this play, yet Fate is in my opnion, the most important of all as it is the fate decided by the Gods which was the starting point of the tragedy. Chance has a relatively small part to play, as although it decided the details such as how Œdipus kills Laius, and the way in which Jocaste and Œdipus find out they have committed incest, their fate and therefore the outcome of the play, remains the same.
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