The play Oedipus explores themes of truth, human blindness, and the possibilities and impossibilities of free will and fate. The public’s shame for Oedipus is born when they become aware of his actions, which are not necessarily repugnant to contemporary readers. Instead, Sophocles condemns Oedipus for his greatest sin of hubris, which he performed with a clear and intentional conscience. However, Oedipus was making decisions with limited information and did not choose to commit patricide. The role of the audience is not to make moral judgments but to understand the complexity of Oedipus’s situation. The play asked its original viewers to consider intentionality and purpose, freeing them from the burden of deciding Oedipus’s guilt. In today’s world, Oedipus’s actions would be condemned differently, but the overriding moral thread of the text remains. While murdering his father was not a crime per se, Oedipus did something shameful in the cultural context of his time. For Oedipus, the shame was a function of his tempted fate and killing his father, making his actions relevant to the modern world.
Daily Archives: October 12, 2023
Emily Dickson’s “The Story of an Hour” and “The Wife” are two pieces that examine the female gender and its position in society. The first verse opens with the poem “I’m Wife,” implying that women become rulers after marriage. The second stanza, “The Story of an Hour,” depicts a female character who is relieved after her husband’s death and expresses numerous feelings. Both pieces stress men’s authority in the marital structure, as demonstrated in Dickson’s poetry “My Wife.” The poem emphasizes the changes in a woman’s life that occur after she marries and is obligated to submit to the man. Mrs. Mallard’s delight upon her husband’s death represents her independence from being governed by another person, as she lives for herself. Both works have a common topic that focuses on the female gender and their status in society, while also emphasizing the important role of males in the lives of women.
