Self-Realization in Oedipus Rex, A Dolls House and The Glass Menagerie - Research Paper Example

Self-Realization in Oedipus Rex, A Doll’s House and The Glass Menagerie Introduction The human mind will be always ‘mined’ with wide range of thoughts. Those thoughts could be based on range of emotions from happiness, depression, excitement, anxiety, etc, etc. When the individual goes into a ‘shell’ because of depressive thoughts, he/she will not be able to concentrate on any constructive things, and will just ‘exist’ without living. Thus, problems, dilemmas and depression would block and constrict the mind’s thinking. After ‘existing’ in that confused, constricted and compulsion state, individuals including the characters in fictions could undergo self-realization. In those scenarios, self-realization will be like the opening of the ‘inner eye’ of the individual, which will take them on a positive and best path. It can also be considered as a moment, when a big ‘confusion mass’ or guilt that may be occupying and constricting an individual’s mind has ‘evaporated’ for good. The confusion in the mind of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, compulsion for Nora Elmer in A Doll’s House and constriction in the mind of Laura in The Glass Menagerie all get evaporated, when these fictional characters undergo self-realization. So, this paper will analyse how these three characters get entangled in a mess, and after a struggling phase, undergo self-realization, thereby enlightening them with mixed results. 2. Oedipus Rex and Self-Realization Oedipus Rex is about the life and the tragic death of Oedipus who after becoming the King of Thebes, dies a tragic death after undergoing self-realization. Oedipus was born to King Laius of Thebes and Queen Jocasta, but was cared by foster parents, Polybus and Merope, as King Laius feared that the prophecy of being killed by his own son could come true. The prophecy in a way gets actualized when Oedipus due to uncontrollable circumstances kills King Laius without knowing that King Lauis was his biological father, setting the stage for future confusions and self-realizations. The other prophecy of Oedipus marrying his mother also came true, when he married Queen Jocasto on the account of him becoming the king of Thebes, after solving the Sphinx riddle. When he comes to know about these crimes, or immoral acts, he goes into a state of confusion as well as depression, but also at the same time self-realization. That is, he was sure that he can find Laius killers and thereby prevent the onslaught of plague, but this confidence turned into weakness when he comes to know the profound truth that he is the killer of Lauis. So, when the ‘recognition’ happens, the self-realization also occurs, with Oedipus transforming from a strong king to a weak blind man. He laments, “I, Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, Damned in the blood he shed with his own hand” (Sophocles 123).The affect this event had on Oedipus as discussed above also bordered on tragedy. On coming to know about the truth and after undergoing self-realization of his crimes and conduct, Oedipus as form of self-justice blinds himself with the golden brooches found on his mother’s dress. He blinds himself, as he did not want to see the miseries that his actions have brought upon him. “The alternative of suicide is directly before him. He takes up her golden pins...blinds himself. It is Sophocles point that Oedipus sees two possibilities and chooses the harder and more painful course” (Smith 92). Talking about the pace of the “recognition”, in the case of Oedipus, it happened suddenly. That is, although he wanted to know the real killers of Lauis for a long time, he comes to know about the truth from messengers and Servants, and when he hears the death of Jocasto immediately, he undergoes self-realization, leading to death. “Salvation becomes annihilation; the tragedy does not take place in the heros downfall, but rather in the fact that man meets his demise along the very path he took up to escape his demise.” (Szondi 59). 3. A Doll’s House and self-realization A Doll’s House is about the life of a suppressed housewife, Nora Elmer who in a moment of self-realization walks out of her marriage unable to live with an intimidating husband Torvald Elmer. Torvald always had a narrow mindset, on how the woman should run the family. He did not favour women’s role outside their homes and viewed woman only as a housewife, whose sole role is taking care of the husband and the children. “Torvald Helmer always endeavors to retain his gender patrimony and maintain the old, androcentric, fundamentally coercive order in his marriage.” (Valente 150). He even attaches the word “sacred” to the women’s duties as a housewife, thereby constricting Nora’s life even further. Torvald belittles her at every ‘opportune’ moment by calling her with inferior names. For example, he avoids calling her with her original name, instead he used inferior and animal names like “squirrel”, “little skylark”, “little woman”, etc. “Is that my little lark twittering out there? IS that my squirrel rummaging around” (Ibsen 43). By adding the word ‘little’ while calling Nora, Torvald wanted to belittle her further. All these acts of Torvald suppressed and hurt Nora very much, and although she did not exhibit it overtly, she was suffering in silence. The breaking point came when Nora in order to save her sick husband borrows money from the bank by forging signatures and other documents. When her husband comes to know about this, he admonishes her, without understanding that she did that only to save him. This makes Elmer distressed and pushes her into a ‘shell’, without any chance to express her feelings. “Nora Helmer finds herself in a trap, which has been created generally by social convention and specifically by her husband, Torvald” (Pearce 340). However in a sudden change of events, he takes back his harsh words and apologizes to Nora and this when Nora undergoes self-realization. That is, this act of Torvald makes Nora realize that he was a not a strong and courageous man as assumed by Nora till now. Instead he appears to be a weak and a narcissistic character, who apologized mainly to show that he is a wonderful husband who cares for his wife. He further suppresses or blames her wife for being foolish. All these insinuations makes Nora undergo self-realization, and importantly made her realize that her husband will not appreciate and understand her, whatever be the constructive things she did. Feeling that she had been treated till now like a ‘doll’ by her husband, Nora in a moment of self-realization, decides to move out of the house. With a stream of consciousness positively flowing in her mind, Nora moves of the house, leaving behind even her children. 4. The Glass Menagerie and Self-realization The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Wiliams deals with the troubled lives of three characters Amanda Wingfield, an ageing mother, her introverted daughter Laura and reticent son, Tom Wingfield. Amanda and Tom try different ways to find a suitable bridegroom for Laura, without achieving any major success. When Jim, an Irishman comes to see Laura and strikes a good rapport with her, the feeling was, it would end positively. However, it does not end favourably; even then, it gave an opportunity for Laura to undergo self-realization. The characters in the story are varied as far as their personalities and behavior are concerned but their love for Laura is the thing that binds them together. Amanda is worried about her daughter’s inability to get herself a husband and is always in search of eligible bachelors for her daughter. Laura on the other hand lives in her imaginary world of glass collections. She has developed an inferiority complex due to her disability but still she is the most caring person among the characters. Tom, Laura’s brother is burdened by the responsibilities of his family in absence of his father. Although he loves his mother and sister, he treats them cruelly. On the insistence of Amanda and Tom, Jim visits Laura but Amanda’s dream of Laura’s marriage remains unfulfilled. When Jim visits, Laura comes about as a shy girl, although he is the same boy whom she deeply loved during her school days. The reason for her shyness is her disability, “A childhood illness has left her crippled, one leg shorter than the other and held in a brace”. (Williams 8). However, a more hurting truth is Tom is already engaged and without knowing this truth, Amanda attempts to unite then in matrimony. Tom honestly tells Laura that he likes her but as he is already engaged, he cannot marry her. Although, this saddens Laura much, as she viewed Jim as a soul mate, she in a way accepts reality and undergoes self-realization. Self-realization in the sense, she understand the impossibility of marrying Jim and so completely ‘extinguishes’ him. This ‘extinguishment’ of Jim by Laura can be interpreted from her act of blowing out the burning candles in the end. By blowing out the candle, Laura in a way shows that she has ‘blown out’ Jim and the happenings of that day from her mind, and after that is going to sleep, to start everything afresh in the morning. “When at the plays end, Laura blows out the candles at Toms urging, it may seem as though the process has been therapeutic and that she is releasing him” (Shuman 1666). 5. Conclusion From the above analysis, it is clear that each character in the three works undergo self-realization due to one reason or other. Each character faces different depressing, confusing, and constricting situations, making them to undergo self-realization. Oedipus after understanding his crimes and immoral act becomes confused and undergoes self-realization, while Nora was forced to live a life of compulsion according to the whims of her husband, forcing her to undergo self-realization, and finally Laura after facing rejection from her suitor, undergoes self-realization. Although, all the three characters undergo self-realization, in the aftermath, each character faces different ends. That is, after self-realization, Oedipus feeling even more guilty kills himself, while Nora after realizing his husband’s narcissistic attitude leaves the home and Laura kind of ‘blows out’ the disappointment. Oedipus’ tragic end appears to be a logical conclusion, as he will not be able to live with the guilt of killing his own father and marrying his own mother. While, Nora’s decision seems to exhibit her free will and hers’ right to live a life according to her wishes, her leaving behind children appears somewhat faulty. Her children did not commit any mistakes, and so leaving them without care in the hands of her uncaring husband could be problematic. Although, Laura’s act of blowing out the candles and being enveloped by darkness can be representative of her even more hopeless state, after rejection by Jim, as pointed out above, it can also be interpreted as extinguishing of bad phase and starting a new phase afresh with positiveness. Works Cited Williams, Tenneesse. The Glass Menagerie. New York: Heinemann, 1996. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. London: Courier Dover Publications, 1992. Pearce, Richard. “The Limits of Realism.” College English, 31. 4, (1970): 335-343. Valente, Joseph. James Joyce and the Problem of Justice: Negotiating Sexual and Colonial Difference. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Sophocles. Four Greek Plays: The Oedipus Rex of Sophocles. Trans by Dudley Fitts. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002. Shuman, R. Baird. Great American Writers: Twentieth Century. London: Marshall Cavendish, 2002. Smith, Helaine L. Masterpieces of classic Greek drama. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. Szondi, Peter. An Essay on the Tragic. London: Stanford University Press, 2002. Read More