Believing in Fate vs. Oedipus

When I initially thought of the character Oedipus before reading the play by Sophocles, I thought he was just one severely unlucky guy (killing his father and marrying his mother)! Little did I know that these unfortunate moments where not mere coincidence. They were the makings of fate that ultimately led Oedipus to view what he refers to as "god" differently from the beginning to the end.

At the beginning of the play, Oedipus comes off as very proud and arrogant towards the gods. He slanders the gods in his response to Teiresias, an elderly, blind man who is reffered to as "the holy prophet" for his psychic abilities. Teiresias tells Oedipus that he holds the blame for the murder of his father. Oedipus refuses to believe him and says, "Has your mystic mummery ever approached the truth?...or the gods, for the matter of that?" (Sophocles, 375-382). At this point in the play, Oedipus believes that his fate is in his own hands no matter what.

The tragedy progesses and Oedipus eventually figures out he never avoids his fate all along, his mother/wife hangs herself, etc. Oedipus blinds himself and in his blindness finds the truth. Before isolating himself due of his crimes, he gives one final blessing to his children: "But as it is, I have only this prayer for you: Live hwere you can, be as happy as you can - Happier, please God, than God has made your father" (Sophocles, 1456-1458). As Oedipus's character changed, so did his view of the gods and control of his own fate. He realizes that the gods really do matter.

Ultimately, Oedipus's beliefs change as his perspective on life changes. Before he was blinded, he believed that the gods don't matter and he is in control. All of this changes after he blinds himself and "sees" how he ultimately has no control over his fate. In the end, Almighty Fate won the tragic showdown against the Headstrong King.