Oedipus Cycle.

I've been reading the Oedipus Cycle (trans. by Robert Fitzgerald and Dudley Fitts) as of late: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.

I just finished Oedipus Rex, and it was quite enjoyable.

I've been reading some criticism of Oedipus, and a lot of folks claim Sophocles did a bad job of characterization. I think that I'd have to agree with that (it's even more obvious in Oedipus at Colonus). Character is a large portion of the play, though, so it kind of makes you wonder how it still captivates.

Freud would say it's something we saw in ourselves, which is gross and wrong.
Most, I think, would say that it's simply the intensity of the action, which I think is cutting it too shallow.

I'd have to say it's really just the deep irony:
A egotistical king does one of the most disgusting things possible when trying to avoid the fate that was prophesied for him, all along saying very ironic things.

If it weren't so shocking, it'd be funny.

That's probably not a new or exciting revelation about Oedipus Rex, but from the criticism I've read, you'd believe it was. Seriously, some people say Oedipus was "great, intelligent and a constant seeker of truth."

I think that's how Oedipus would like to see himself; reality is another matter altogether.


Something else of interest:
Not only does all major action happen off stage, but also the fulfillment of the prophesy, the one for which Oedipus is so widely known, occurs before the play even begins.

I wonder, then, would it be fair to say this play isn't about fatalism or anything of the sort??
I would love nothing more than to make this a play about a sort of soft theological determinism.
I think it's easy to make that argument. After all, Oedipus says himself(and I'm just paraphrasing here):
"Apollo gave me the troubles, but it was mine own hands that plucked out my eyes."

Something like that.

Anyway, the point is, here we have the gods giving Oedipus a fate, and Oedipus (and Jocasta at one point) believing he (and she) could avoid it. His pride and arrogance lead him to believe he's better than the gods and the prophets, but of course he's not. The gods simply told him what would happen, but it was his own fault that it happened.

I'm not going to argue about determinism, because I think determinism (what little I know of it), seems pretty dumb, but if anyone else knows more about determinism, feel free to tell me if this sounds like determinism to you.

Anyway.

A lot of this is to help me with my upcoming Flannery O'Connor article.

I've started on Oedipus At Colonus, and so far it's terrible.