Wednesday, February 1, 2012

In Oedipus Rex, why does Oedipus blind himself?

's act
of blinding himself symbolically
represents his ignorant decision to dismiss 's intimate
knowledge of his
past, by purposefully overlooking his message and the signs which reveal that

he murdered his father and married his mother. When Oedipus is exposed to the truth, he
is
overcome with shame, grief, and remorse. Once Oedipus realizes that he was
not able to avoid the
prophecy and is responsible for the plague, he is
disgusted with himself and stabs his own eyes
using 's golden
brooches.

Oedipus blinding himself reflects his emotional

pain and reveals that he has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus acknowledges
that
hishas left him blind to the truth and is too ashamed of himself to
witness the citizens'
reactions. Overall, Oedipus chooses stab out his eyes
as a way of punishing himself for his
hubris and ignorance. His loss of
eyesight also symbolically represents his previous decision to
overlook
Teiresias's message and ignore the truth. 

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