The idea of the Oedipus Complex is derived from Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, during which Oedipus learned that he was cursed to kill his father and sleep with his mother.
The curse of Oedipus rests with the prophecy of the Delphic oracle stating he will kill his father and marry his mother. In "Antigone", it is wondered whether this curse is also influencing the life of Antigone as she is sentenced to a living death for secretly performing burial rights over Polynices's corpse.
Explanation: In the first sentence of the passage it is suggested that Oedipus was cursed by Gods for mistakenly killing his father and subsequently marrying his mother and assuming the throne of Thebes.
Ares never forgave Kadmos for the death of his dragon. He placed a curse on the Thebans, ensuring that their blighted descendants would never find peace. Ares was Kadmos' father-in-law. Kadmos was Laius' great grandfather. The curse The curse ensured that Laius would be killed by his own son.
Eteocles and Polynices will each die by the other's hand, he says, for that is the curse Oedipus put on them when they exiled him from Thebes. Polynices, realizing that he'll never win his father's support, turns to his sisters, whom he asks only for a proper burial if he is killed in battle.
Thinking that Polybus and his wife were his parents, Oedipus left home to avoid this destiny and wound up in Thebes—where he ironically fulfilled the prophecy by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, not realizing they were his true parents.
“Leave this place, cursed mortal. You will ascend your father's throne when you have killed him, then marry your own mother, and father children on her who will be loathed by gods and men alike.”
Cursing his fate that had doomed him to do what he had meant not to do, he blinded himself, as he could not bear to see the children he had fathered with Jocasta, his wife and mother. Jocasta for her part hanged herself.
Creon learns from Apollo that the curse on Thebes resulted from King Laius' murder. The city must banish the murderer to lift the curse.
Oedipus curses his sons and praises his faithful daughters for their sacrifice. He tells the elders that he does not want to return to Thebes, and if they help him, he will give his blessing to Athens.
At the end of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the protagonist Oedipus has gouged out his own eyes and is sent into exile. His wife (and —spoiler alert—his mother) is dead, having hung herself. The gods, it seems, have inflicted a harsh punishment on Oedipus.
What problems does Oedipus' tragic flaw cause? Oedipus' tragic flaw leads him to his fate: mainly to kill his father and to marry his mother. The curse he proclaims on the person who killed Laius eventually falls on himself, as he was unknowingly the murderer.
Answer: Oedipus blinds himself because he cannot bear to look at the world anymore after realizing the truth about his past. He learns that he has unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a prophecy that he had been trying to avoid his whole life.
Shortly after Creon leaves, Oedipus' other son, Polynices, arrives to beg his father's support in his war to regain the Theban throne from his brother and Creon. Oedipus angrily curses Polynices, prophesying that he and his brother Eteocles will die at one another's hand.
Oedipus learns of the fate bestowed upon him: that he would murder his father and sleep with his mother. In an attempt to escape this prophecy, Oedipus decides to leave his home in Corinth, defying the fate bestowed upon him. His decision is the first and most reprehensible sin committed by Oedipus.
Provoked by the anger and insults of Oedipus, Tiresias begins to hint at his knowledge. Finally, when Oedipus furiously accuses Tiresias of the murder, Tiresias tells Oedipus that Oedipus himself is the curse.
To prevent the prophecy, Oedipus kills his father, fulfilling the first part unintentionally. He does not even know that the man he has killed was his own biological father. He does not begin to suspect what happened until it is far too late. He travels on toward Thebes, not giving the dead men another thought.
Jocasta realizes the truth—that Oedipus is her son as well as her husband—and tells Oedipus to stop the interrogations. He doesn't listen, and an eyewitness, the Herdsman who rescued him when he was an infant, confirms that he was Laius and Jocasta's child, and that Oedipus killed Laius.
Jocasta handed the newborn infant over to Laius. Jocasta or Laius pierced and pinned the infant's ankles together. Laius instructed his chief shepherd, Menoetes (not to be confused with Menoetes, the underworld spirit) a slave who had been born in the palace, to expose the infant on Mount Cithaeron and leave it to die.
Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud chose the term Oedipus complex to designate a son's feeling of love toward his mother and of jealousy and hate toward his father, although those were not emotions that motivated Oedipus's actions or determined his character in any ancient version of the story.
(BookRags, Antigone) Oedipus' sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, were both too prideful because they both wanted the power that came from taking over the throne at Thebes. As a result, it led to both of their self-destructions, as they killed each other in a battle for power.
Who is Responsible for Oedipus' Downfall? Oedipus is ultimately responsible for his own downfall. He was warned by the Oracle of Delphi that he would kill his father and marry his mother, but instead of avoiding the prophecy, he took matters into his own hands and tried to outrun his fate.
The major conflict of Oedipus the King arises when Tiresias tells Oedipus that Oedipus is responsible for the plague, and Oedipus refuses to believe him. The major conflict of Oedipus at Colonus is between Oedipus and Creon.
A tragic hero is a type of character in a tragedy, and is usually the protagonist. Tragic heroes typically have heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the audience, but also have flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their own downfall. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is a tragic hero.