Did Oedipus Change His Fate

In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus continually attempts to change his fate. His actions, however, directly result in the outcome he has tried to escape. In accordance with a prophecy, Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother. Upon discovering what he has done, in a dramatic act with many witnesses present, Oedipus gouges out his own eyes in despair. Despite all of his attempts at evasion, Oedipus finds that his fate is inevitable, and that he can never go against the gods’ intentions. Oedipus blinds himself not simply in revulsion from his actions, but in order to coerce the crowd into pitying him and recognizing his sacrifice, and to hopefully relax their punishment on his family. Oedipus wants the townspeople to be impressed by the selflessness and bravery of his actions. Oedipus is their ruler, and though he will likely be exiled because of his actions, he wants to ensure that he goes out in an act of grandeur. Blinding himself and creating a spectacle is a far more royal way to go than being dragged away by guards in humiliation. He

He wants to make sure that his girls are well taken care of: “My two poor helpless girls...take care of them for me” (80). Furthermore, Oedipus does not want his daughters to suffer his same fate of exile. , He hopes that his self-punishment will be enough to ensure that someone will at least take care of his family. He does not have high hopes for his daughters, telling them that their “destiny is clear, to waste away, unmarried, childless” (81), but he thinks that through his acts he can make their lives a little better. He clearly cares for his daughters very much, as evidenced by the fact that his last wish before exile is to speak with them one last time. He simply wants to be a good father in his farewell moment, as he failed him them profoundly by marrying his own