In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the theme of fate versus free will appears often throughout the

play. It is prophesied to Oedipus’s parents, Jocasta and Laius, that their son would grow up to
kill his father and marry his mother. Diana McHugh addresses the concept of fate by writing,

Their attempt to assert their free will is foiled when fate intervenes, in the form of the “good
will” of a Shepherd who spares the infant’s life.

Jocasta and Laius attempt to get rid of their son but fate triumphs. Oedipus’ fate throughout the
play has been decided by the prophecy which contributes to his destruction. According to Alistar
Cameron, Oedipus’s fate is not complete before the beginning of the play (134).

Apollo is aware Oedipus is guilty of killing his father so when Apollo asks for Laius’s killer to
be found, Oedipus will find himself. Oedipus’ pride is emphasized when he searches for Laius’
killer to stop the plague; he wants to find the killer and protect himself. McHugh states,

“Oedipus relentlessly begins the long search to find the killer, ignorant to the fact that it is he
himself and that his fate is closing upon him.”

Oedipus is ignorant to the fact that by searching for the killer he is sealing his own fate.

Through Oedipus’ efforts to find the killer, he summons the blind prophet Tiresias to his palace
for question. The scene between Tiresias and Oedipus is the first scene in the play to demonstrate
strong conflict; audience members see Oedipus’ temper for the first time. Before this scene,
Oedipus has acted calmly but loses patience when Tiresias refuses to reveal the identity of the
killer. Tiresias’s confidence in the prophecy while Oedipus’s free will falters:

Hear me out. Since you have thrown my blindness at me I will tell you what yours don’t see:
what evil you are steeped in. You don’t see where you live or who shares your house. Do you
know your parents? You are their enemy in this life and down there with the dead. (ll. 495–503)

Oedipus believes by search for Laius’s killer he is using his own free will but that is not the case.
McHugh points out that Oedipus

compulsively continues his search for the murderer despite the warnings he receives. It is
through his own questioning that he discovers that fate has had its way after all, and that he is the
one guilty of the murder of Laius, and that his wife, Jocasta is in fact his mother.

Oedipus’s ignorance of the prophecy ultimately leads to his destruction. Oedipus leaves the
house of his adoptive parents, Polybus and Merope, hoping to avoid the prophecy coming true.
Oedipus uses his free will to take this action but doing so leads up to his prophecy coming true.
Oedipus’s destiny is predetermined at birth by the gods. Having his life predetemined by fate
leaves little space for free will to intervene to change that. Discovering he is the killer, Oedipus
blinds himself and is exiled from Thebes.

The role of Fate in the Downfall of Oedipus.

The Fate is closely related to the each Human. Man cannot deny this supernatural turn. For the
Greeks, `Fate` means the foretelling of what will happen. It is the essential part of Greek
tragedies and epics and in the case of `Oedipus Rex` it is not otherwise. As it is shown that the
characters of the Greek tragedies are free but their freedom is tied with destiny. In the play
`Oedipus Rex` fate plays an important role by controlling the destiny of the characters. It
controls the characters, Jocasta, Laius and Oedipus, and pre-determines the major events in their
lives. But in carrying out the plot Sophocles has shown that the characters are not altogether
puppets in the hands of fate. As they are presented on the stage, they are free agents, freely
choosing various actions.

Long before the birth of Oedipus, it was announced from the Delphi that he would kill his father
and marry his mother. All human beings through their kindness, intellect, inquiry and all other
activities acted only to fulfill this prophecy. Here every character tries o trick the fate but
ultimately realizes that the fate cannot be tricked. As we have seen pity, cruelty, foresight and
bravery have all been employed in trying to circumvent fate and have actually themselves woven
into the web of fate. The cruel decision of Laius and Jocasta to expose the babe, the pity of the
Herdsman who found it, the decision of Oedipus to give up his life as a king’s son by leaving
Coriath- all have played their part in bringing about the fulfillment of the fate.

The fate controls the character, Jocasta. Jocasta knew what the oracle had prophesied and went
on to bear Laius’s child and then attempted to get round the consequences of the fate. She has
even been willing to kill the child to forestall the horror of what he may do. She makes her
decision and commits herself to a course of action which brings her doom upon her.

The fate also seals the destiny of the character Laius. He did everything to prevent the fate which
had been pronounced by the Delphi. He chained and handed over the child to a servant who
passed it to a Corinthian shepherd, who passed the baby to the Corinthian king. The child grew
up as the son of Polybus and Merope, the king and queen of Corinth. Subsequently the child,
Odeipus killed his the father, Laius fulfilling the prophecy of the Oracle.

The fate also has the contribution in bringing about the tragedy in the life of Odeipus. He learnt
the terrible prediction concerning him from the oracle and like his parents tried his utmost to
avert such a fate. He fled from Corinth, determined never to set eyes on his supposed father and
mother as long as they lived. Unfortunately, on the way of his journey, he killed his father, king
Laius, unknowingly. He also married the king’s widow. Jocasta, his real mother, after saving the
city Thebes, from a frightful monster, Sphinx, who was causing a lot of destruction. So the
unavoidable fate has made Oedipus do two horrible crimes, killing his father and marrying his
mother.

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The occurrences which bring about the tragedy in the lives of Laius, Jocasta and Oedipus are the
work of fate. All these characters performed the disastrous acts as a direct result of their efforts
to escape the cruel fate which the oracle at Delphi had communicated to them. They are
informed in advance that they will become the victims of certain shocking events. They take
whatever measures they think of to avert those events but things turn out exactly as they had
been foretold by the oracle.

According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must belong to a well-known family and his downfall is
due to his error or hamartia. In this respect, Oedipus as a tragic hero does not meet the criterion
.His downfall is fate- bound. Sooner or later he must fall from his position .It can be argued that
his inquisition nature is responsible for his downfall.

But it is hard to say whether his inquisitive nature had originated, if the gods would have not sent
a plague in the city Thebes and caused the search for the killer of the king. So in the downfall of
Oedipus we see the humbling of a great man by the fate or gods. This treatment is not deserved
by Oedipus. It is not a punishment for insolence nor it is due to any fault of judgment in man.
The gods display their power because they must. Now it is vain to ask why Oedipus is punished
fir sins of which he had no knowledge. Man may not cross question the gods and Oedipus has no
such right.

But the argument has its other side. Oedipus is not a flawless person. He has many faults in his
character. He is rash, hot-tempered, hasty in forming judgments, easily provoked and very much
inquisitive. Not all of his acts are pre-determined. He is a free agent freely choosing a series of
actions which lead to his own ruin. The oracle’s prediction was unconditional; it did not say that
if Oedipus did such and such a thing, he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus
does many things to evade his fate, but unfortunately instead of delaying his acts precipitated his
downfall. He failed to understand (blinded by the over-confidence) that not all difficulties are
riddles to be solved by the application of pure intellect but that some are mysteries not to be
solved at all.

Considering all the facts, we can say that Oedipus is neither a free agent nor a mere victim of
fate. The major events of his life are determined by fate, but his own acts such as fleeing from
Corinth, killing an old man, marrying an aged woman, without knowing his whole identity,
showing over-confidence and milking the shepherd for information all have contributed in
precipitating the disaster.