Monday, September 5, 2016
You Made Your Bed, Now Lie In It
I find the fact that Oedipus, while able to see around him, was more blind than an actual blind man to be quite ironic. While, yes, Teiresias is a prophet and not a random blind man, it goes to show that having all of one's senses doesn't make them the wiser person. I believe this is why Teiresias didn't tell Oedipus who the murderer was. He (Teiresias) wanted to get Oedipus' eyes to open on their own. This ended up causing the realization that Oedipus was the murderer who brought upon the plague, and he killed his own father and married his mother. It can even be seen as comical that after finding out the truth Oedipus blinded himself, as instead of looking on to his wrongdoings and trying to correct them, he would rather blind himself and let that be the last thing he sees. Both Oedipus' blindness, and the fact that Creon won't kill him, help support an idea of "you made your bed, now lie in it."
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I find your points very well thought out. I think I might feel the same as Creon if I were in his shoes.
ReplyDeleteGreat theory. Teiresias wished to allow Oedipus to talk the path himself. To find himself in some ways. That way there would be no doubt of his guilt within himself.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is very interesting that the lack of vision is connected with the truth. It would seem that it would be the other way around, but that is the irony of this story for sure.
ReplyDeleteI think this whole story brings a great lesson to even us modern readers. It teaches to keep an open mind, and to not only open your senses to just the world around you. It teaches us to examine our situations from an outsider's point of view.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the fact that Teiresias knew exactly who the murderer was and just did not want to tell Oedipus it was him. I think he knew that Oedipus' heart and mind were clouded by his success and fame from the people. He might have done this on purpose.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the exchange between Teiresias and Oedipus come full circle. How Teiresias does not tell Oedipus the truth and Oedipus mocks him for being blind, but then once Oedipus discovers the truth, he blinds himself. It is very ironic, and I agree that we could learn a few things from Oedipus and Teiresias ourselves.
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