Examples Of Morally Ambiguous Characters In Oedipus

Morally ambiguous characters are those that are not fully good or evil and can be seen either way. This type of character is shown in Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles. It is a tragedy about how Oedipus, a man whom an oracle predicts will murder his father and marry his mother, unknowingly sentences himself to exile for the murder of his father. Oedipus is a morally ambiguous character in that he directly fulfills his prophecy, despite directly trying to avoid fulfilling it, which reveals the idea that when information is hidden, free will is subservient to fate. Oedipus can be seen as an immoral character in that his actions directly complete his prophecy. This is shown when Oedipus recounts his journey from Corinth to Thebes to Jocasta to determine

This is shown when Oedipus tells Jocasta why he left Corinth to eventually end up in Thebes to gain more information about Laios’s murder. Oedipus recounts that he was, “doomed to sleep with my own mother, doomed to bring children into this world where the sun pours down, children no one could bear to see, doomed to murder the man who gave me life, whose blood is my blood. My father. And after I heard all this, I fled Corinth” (Sophocles; p. 59, lines 1030-1035). Here it is clear that Oedipus's primary, if not only, motive for leaving Corinth was his prophecy because he is ready to leave everything he knows behind after the oracle tells him these things. Additionally, Oedipus has no hesitation; he hears his prophecy and then flees to avoid doing horrible things to the people he thinks are his parents. It is clear that Oedipus wanted to and actively tried to prevent these things from happening. Sophocles, also, shows how Oedipus takes his actions to avoid his prophecy when Oedipus explains why he still will not return to Corinth after a messenger tells him that Polybus is dead. Sophocles writes, “Oedipus: But so long as my mother is alive, my fear lives too. Messenger: Who is this woman you fear so much? Oedipus: Merope, King Polybus' wife. Messenger: Why does Merope frighten you so much? Oedipus: A harrowing oracle hurled down upon us by some great