Oedipus Free Will

Fate is a series of events that are destined to happen but can be affected by a person’s choices out of free will. In the time of the story, Oedipus Rex, a person's fate is controlled by the gods, and trying to go against their fate is like going against the gods. Laius and Jocasta learn from the oracle that if they have a child, then their child’s fate will be to kill their father and marry their mother. When Laius and Jocasta accidently have a child, Oedipus, they attempt to avoid their fate and Oedipus’s fate by trying to kill him. Because Oedipus did not know that Laius and Jocasta were his parents, he killed his father and married his mother unintentionally. And in the end, Oedipus’s unfortunate fate happens because of the poor choices he makes because of his hubris. The impact that the choices of Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus has on the children of Jocasta and Oedipus and the future generations is extensive. Fate is caused by choices of free will and any …show more content…
Oedipus says in his final speech, “Then, whom can you ever marry? There are no bridegrooms for you, and your lives must wither away in sterile dreaming” (Sophocles, lines 1440-1442). Because Oedipus just had to know who his parents were no matter what the consequence, his children will now suffer for the rest of their lives. If Oedipus could have just accepted that it probably was not best that he knew who his parents were, then no one in the town would know and his children would not be doomed to a terrible life. The impact of Oedipus’ fate is illustrated when Oedipus says, “But the blinding was at my own hand! How could I bear to see when all my sight was horror everywhere?” (Sophocles, lines 1288-1290). When Oedipus blinds himself, the extent of the wretchedness he had caused by his stubbornness and his choices is