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Odipus the king blindness motif [5]
Sarah, could you take a look at what I have worked up and see if I am on the right track?
The Importance of Blindness in Sophocles' "Oedipus the King"
Samuel Butler wrote "A blind man knows he cannot see, and is glad to be led, though it be by a dog; but he that is blind in his understanding, which is the worst blindness of all, believes he sees as the best, and scorns a guide." Blindness appears in all people even if they possess the ability to "see". People tend to avoid "seeing" the truth or completely understanding a situation. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses the blindness motif effectively by making Oedipus "blind" throughout the story by his refusal to see the prophecy has come true, while Teiresias' physical blindness allows him to "see" the truth. Oedipus begins his life with the prophecy that he will kill his father, sleep with his mother and breed children with her. He becomes aware of the prophecy from an oracle as he searches for answers regarding his parentage. Disillusioned he wanders the country and heads toward a new land "where I should never see the evil sung by the oracle." On his way he crosses paths with a group of men that force him off the road. Oedipus reacts with anger and kills the entire group. He then continues on to Thebes where he defeats the Sphinx that has been killing the people. He is rewarded by being crowned king and marrying the widow queen.
A terrible plague has overcome the country and Oedipus sends for the prophet Teiresias to tell him how to find the killer of the old king and remove the plague. Teiresias realizes who Oedipus is and does not want to tell him that he is the murderer. Oedipus goads him into it and Teiresias advises,
Listen to me. You mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes, are blind: You can not see the wretchedness of your life, nor in whose house you live, no, nor with whom. Who are your father and mother? Can you tell me? You do not even know the blind wrongs that you have done them, on earth and in the world below.
Sophocles uses the wisdom of Teiresias to cause misgivings in the proud Oedipus and Teiresias continues with the revelation:
A blind man, who has his eyes now; a penniless man, who is rich now; and he will go tapping the strange earth with his staff; to the children with whom he lives now he will be brother and father - the very same; to her who bore him, son and husband - the very same who came to his father's bed, wet with his father's blood.
The final scenes deal with Oedipus discovery that the prophecy is true and he has been blind to the truth. Oedipus in his despair gouges his eyes out. Sophocles uses the self imposed blindness of Oedipus' actions to reinforce the theme. This is evident in the following passage:
This punishment that I have laid upon myself is just. If I had eyes, I do not know how I could bear the sight of my father, when I came to the house of death, or my mother: for I have sinned against them both so vilely that I could not make my peace by strangling my own life.
Sophocles through the physical blinding of Oedipus has finally allowed him to acquire a limited prophetic vision that allows him to "see" or comprehend more clearly the world around him. Teiresias' character is still blind yet he can see further than all the others with great wisdom and clarity.
(The instructions for paper require 500-600 word essay arguing that Sophocles uses the blindness motif effectively in his drama, Oedipus the King. Support with 2 or 3 quotable passages from the drama; document according to MLA guidelines. Be certain to offer an explicit thesis statement.)
