Oedipus Journal #4

Themes and ideas

Sight and blindness is an important motif in Oedipus. Eyes and sight in the book are symbols of knowing things and blindness is like ignorance. In the book, the image of sight comes up in the beginning when with Tiresis the blind profit. "Blind, lost in the night, endless night that nursed you"(425-426). Oedipus thinks that he knows everything because he is the king and he believes that Tiresis knows nothing and is ignorant so that is why he is depicted as blind but really it is Oedipus who is blind. At the end of the story when the prophecy comes true then the motif of blindness comes back. "Too long you looked on the ones tou never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know!" (1407-1408). After Oedipus realizes that it has come true he realizes that he does not know everything, then he gouges his eyes out as a symbol that he is not worthy and is ignorant.

Death also seems like it is a motif in the play. In the beginning of the play the people of Thebes are dying. "Death. so many deaths, numberless deaths on deaths, no end-" (203-204). The plague has caused a lot of death in the city. Death is representing Oedipus' ignorance also. Because he will not accept that he is the reason for the plague, people keep dying. Jocasta's death is also reflecting the ignorance of Oedipus. She does not want him to look into his past but hew does not care and does it anyway which causes her death.