The Guilt of Oedipus Rex - Essay Example

As in the play, we see that there is free will. It could be noted that Oedipus could pass the fight off when he was hit by the chariot instead of killing the man (who happened to be his father) but there was still the factor of predestination. He was meant to kill the King and was meant to marry his mother. There are options in which he can actually escape his fate but can’t because you can’t escape fate. His sins two greatest sins are killing his father and marrying his mother. In present times, that is called parricide and incest. As far as we are concerned, he was provoked by the man in the chariot so that his actions can be named as defensive, even if he killed his father. The man also did not know that he hit his son and turned aggressive. So even if parricide was done, Oedipus is still innocent because it can be said that he is doing self-defense. He is also innocent when he married his mother because he did not know that it was his mother! He was adopted and he did not know who his real parents were. If this were to happen these times, it would have to be socially sanctioned too, but not to the point where they would self-mutilate themselves (Oedipus blinding himself) or commit suicide because of humiliation. It would be understood because it was done innocently.

Legally though, it is different. There are laws pertaining to road rage, and killing another driver on the road (may he be on a chariot), is still road rage. For example in California, anyone who commits road rage is liable for a $1,000 fine with a maximum of four years in prison. This law includes those who hit pedestrians or other operators of vehicles, so Oedipus is guilty of that. Parricide also has heavy legal sanctions and is illegal worldwide. Incest is also illegal too. Incest is a social taboo, there are even those who cannot speak the word. It is also heavily sanctioned and a person could face jail time, even if it is between two consenting adults, like the one with Oedipus and Jocasta (meaning there is no child sexual abuse involved). However, it should be noted that the two did not know that they are related, thus they did not know they were committing incest. Still, it is incest and it is illegal.

The actions done by Oedipus are all illegal, but due to the play’s ability to let the audience forgive the characters because of the innocence that Oedipus possesses, plus the fact that he is predestined to do all of his actions, he can be forgiven by today’s social standards. Because, as an audience, we see that he is only human and is prone to make mistakes. Not only that, but the play also says we humans are mere playthings by Gods.