An Analysis of Fate vs. Free Will in the Theban Plays

An Analysis of Fate vs. Free Will in the Theban Plays When Teiresias asks in Antigone (line 1051), What prize outweighs the priceless worth of prudence? he strikes (as usual) to the heart of the matter in Sophocles Theban Plays. Sophocles dramatizes the struggle between fate and free will, in one sense, but in another sense the drama might be better understood as the struggle between the will of the goods (which it is prudent to follow, according to Teiresias) and mans will (which is often imprudent). Sophocles characters are moved by their own wills, of course (either in accordance or in conflict with the will of the gods). Oedipus in Oedipus the King is determined to pursue the truth in spite of the objections of Jocasta, the priest, and his own misgivings. In Oedipus at Colonus, Theseus cannot rest (line 1773) until he has served both Antigone and the late Oedipus (implying that conscience is his motivator awareness, in other words, of his duty towards them). In Antigone, Antigone acts in accordance to the will of the gods (but in di sobedience to the will of Creon) and does so knowing the punishment that awaits her: Go I, his prisoner, because I honored those things to which honor truly belongs (lines 178-9). This paper will show how while fate is a powerful force in The Theban Plays, the characters themselves are still left to exercise their own free will (either with respect or disrespect to will of the gods). Thus, the main drama consists not in theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Oedipus The King And Antigone1170 Words   |  5 PagesShaffner Matriarchal Madness Women have been silenced for generations upon generations, their voices of reason stripped away and locked inside the caves of submissiveness. The key is thrown out into a vast ocean of misery and peril, and the hope to break free slowly diminishes. Yet, there are always those women who will never accept their expected place in society. These women try to break down those barriers in attempts to leave an imprint on this ever- changing world. In civilizations such as Athens,