Oedipus Rex; Sophocles review

2010-08-03 [windowframe]: Eh? What? The others don't know what has happened anymore than he does - his mother/wife certainly doesn't know. And the "foolishness" is simply his willingness to find out the truth at any cost - the others, bar Tieresias, don't know the truth, but they've decided that sometimes, the truth isn't worth knowing. Oedipus folly is his nobility in that he will find out the truth at any cost.

2010-08-03 [Akayume]: Well, she realizes it, which is why she begs him to not dig for the truth. And I'm sure the others can put two and two together as the play progresses.

2010-08-03 [windowframe]: No, she realises that the cost of the truth might be one she's not prepared to pay, and I don't think the others put two and two together any quicker than Oedipus does. Might that not be your own perspective and familiarity with the material influencing that thought 'I know, it's obvious to me, and therefore it must be obvious to them'? Personally, I think it's pretty obvious only Tieresias knows the truth right up until the final revelation. :)

2010-08-03 [Akayume]: No, I don't think so... And everyone acts as if they know something he does not, which makes me think that they begin to realize it before he does. Then again, I haven't read the piece in a while, so a re-read might be in order.

2010-08-03 [windowframe]: They fear the truth, but they don't know what it is, they just know that it's bad. The play would hardy make sense if they did know - what exactly does a pre-knowledge of the situation do to the character of Jocaste? Either she knows it's her son when she first sleeps with him, or, despite having figured it out half way through the play, she waits until the truth is revealed to Oedipus to feel guilty abut it and kill herself. Having her know beforehand just doesn't make a lot of sense in terms of her character, to me.


And the fact that though Oedipus, like everyone else, fears the unknown truth, but is till prepared to pursue it, no matter what the cost, is what makes him a tragic hero rather than just a pitiable and disgusting figure. I'm sure Aristotle would have thought the play was a load of crap if everyone bar Oedipus actually knew what was going on. :P And we know from other variants of the myth that they really don't know until the messenger comes along to reveal he didn't kill Jocaste's baby all those years ago. Claiming that Sophocles has every character bar Oedipus know the truth is making a huge claim about how he changed the myth to suit his play, and then the onus is on you to find a justification for why he'd make this change and what he could be hoping to achieve. :P

2010-08-03 [Akayume]: I didn't mean they knew all along, but do figure it out through the course of the play. And perhaps she's praying it isn't the truth, even if she knows it's true, and doesn't face her fears until all is out in the open (just like in today's world, if, for instance, you know something terrible but don't believe it and pretend it isn't real until you're forced to come to face it).

2010-08-03 [windowframe]: Well they all figure it out through the course of the play, even Oedipus, so suddenly the claim is a lot less interesting. Jocaste's fears are perhaps closer to the truth's than anyone, but she can't fully suspect the truth when she's confident that the child she bore all those years ago is dead. I don't think any of them figure it out any faster than Oedipus himself. Where's the textual proof for that?

2010-08-03 [Akayume]: I gathered that from what they say and how they act, although I can't cite specific words or paragraphs since it's been a while since I read it and I don't actually own a copy. >.O