Oedipus

The events of this act focus on the role and power of fate. When Oedipus waits to hear the news from the Oracle, he “quiver[s] in fear of where fate now points” (206). Even though he is a king, fate scares him. His current fear recalls the fear that caused him to flee his home with King Polybus, suggesting that there is a connection between the past and the present. However, because fate is still hidden “in twisting / Ambiguities” (213-214), this connection is not clear to Oedipus. While he hopes to save his city from the plague, he also worries about his own culpability.

As Creon recounts the Oracle’s message, Oedipus fails to realize that the description of the murderer points at him. Creon recites the exact words of the Oracle, yet Oedipus does not recognize his own backstory. Instead, he chastises the perpetrator, who he notes did “all that I fled” (263). Oedipus does not consider that trying to avoid fate has resulted in his fulfillment of the prophecy and the suffering of his people—this blindness embodies Oedipus’s tragic flaw. Meanwhile, Tiresias’s blindness contrasts with Oedipus’s blindness: While Tiresias cannot see the world around him, he can, unlike Oedipus, see fate.

Seneca adds the character of Manto, Tiresias’s sighted daughter, to bridge the gap between fate and the mortal world. Tiresias can see the hidden message from the Oracle, while Manto helps make the connection when she “[r]eport[s] the clear signs of this fateful rite” (302). Her descriptions of the ritual allow both the characters onstage and the audience to attempt to decipher fate’s message.

Manto’s gruesome details of the ritual also emphasize the violence of the rites, creating a horrific tone that foreshadows the violence of the ending of the play. The heifer, symbolizing Jocasta, “thrust herself on the poised blade / And fell with one blow” (341-342). The bull, symbolizing Oedipus, “suffered” instead of succumbing easily (342). The Oracle has connected the plague, the prophecy, and Oedipus to her message.

When Oedipus names Creon as the person to participate in the ritual to summon Laius’s spirit, Oedipus marks him as someone whom he trusts. Oedipus’s trust in this scene contrasts with Oedipus’s later reaction in Act III, where he promptly distrusts Creon and imprisons him for treason. Oedipus’s paranoia and blindness prevent him from distinguishing between supporter and foe.

The chorus ends the act with another plea to the gods to rescue them from their suffering. They address the patron god of Thebes, Bacchus. The chorus’s extended description of the mythology of Bacchus focuses on ambiguity and unnatural mixing. Thematically, the emphasis on unnatural mixing in the chorus’s speech mirrors Oedipus’s own situation, as he has committed incest with his own mother.