“[the past] has turned your flesh into its own cupboard. Not everything remembered is useful but it all comes from the world to be stored within you”
~ Claudia Rankine, Citizen
In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, King Oedipus unknowingly leads a life that is completely controlled by the prophecy of an oracle. When the truth of this prophecy comes out, Oedipus’ entire self concept collapses in a matter of minutes, and the reader is forced to ask just how reliant on extrinsic influences that self concept was.
Oedipus’s life can be split into two main sections from the play; before and after he learned about the prophecy. Both of these sections are associated with a few key points that illustrate Oedipus’ self concept during that period, and although Oedipus Rex isn’t driven heavily by plot, the scarcity of plot points is evidence to their importance to the play’s characters. The first section of Oedipus’ life contains a variety of life experiences and lessons; he leaves his childhood home, embarks on a violent journey to find his parents, becomes king of a new land, and accomplishes great things in his position of leadership. The audience doesn’t get to witness Oedipus as he takes these actions, but the interactions that he has during the play allows us to build an identity for Oedipus that remains surprisingly constant throughout. He is rude to those around him, overwhelmed by his pride, and denies that he is anything less than perfection. Especially in juxtaposition to the play’s other characters, the audience can see that Oedipus identifies himself as separate and above those around him. This version of Oedipus’ self concept is interesting, but it is most valuable to the audience when compared to his identity after his surroundings change. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus begins to understand that he has been living out the oracle’s predictions, and everything that he thought to be true about the circumstances of his life is contradicted. This discovery very quickly changes the way he interacts with others; he becomes deeply sympathetic to his family, merciful to his political peers, and indebted to the peasants at the scene. Most importantly, Oedipus turns upon himself after this change by blinding himself, and in doing so shows that he not only condemns himself for his actions but also hopes to seek the truth. This view of Oedipus’ identity is completely opposite from the one he displays earlier in the play, and all that changed to bring it about was a shift of perspective to the world around him.
Even in a text where much of the main character’s life is left untold, it is clear in Oedipus Rex that King Oedipus’ self concept changes dramatically alongside of his worldview. This change shows the audience how valuable perspective can be, and with it Sophocles asks us if it is possible to understand who we are without the context of the world to compare ourselves to.
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