Comparing the Fate of Oedipus and Phaedra Essay - 2321 Words

Oedipus destruction was foretold to his father and mother, Laius and Jocasta, when he was born. It was told to him again when he was a young Corinthian prince, to which he ran from home (I heard all that and ran 876). Tiresias tells it to him again during the passage of the Oedipus Rex. The destiny of Oedipus has been laid down, unalterable from the moment he was created. He was fated to marry his mother and kill his father. Phaedra is not controlled by fate. She is possessed by a frivolous deity (the goddess anger has landed on your head p142), stung by her lack of praise and with a grudge against Phaedras stepson Hippolytus. Thus it is the goddess, Aphrodite, that causes Phaedra to fall in love with the young Athenian†¦show more content†¦It is Oedipus pride that he can escape the fate wound by the gods at all by running from it. He instead runs straight into it. If he had remained with his adopted parents then his disastrous corruption would not have been brought upon The bes and the House of Laius. It is his pride that drives his yearning for self-knowledge. He must see it all, must see the truth at last, despite the appeals by his wife for him to stop (if you love your own life, call off this search! My suffering is enough 1163). There was no requirement for him to reveal his own incestuous crimes but his pride led to him doing so. It is his own character that leads him to carry out his own fate. During the Oedipus Rex, no gods appear on stage, unlike the Hippolytus. This is because there is no divine motivator behind the scenes. Whilst we feel their presence and they are frequently referred to (Apollo - he ordained my agonies 1468), this is a tale of men and their own actions. Phaedra on the other hand is a very different character. When we first see her, she is in a swoon, carried on a stretcher by servants. Though we begin to think of her as a weak, womanly character (I have lost control of my limbs p135), it soon becomes clear that she is possessed. Not only did we see the calculating Aphrodite a couple of scenes earlier plotting this supernatural affliction (my scheming caused a terrible longing to