I believe
that ' downfall is dictated by fate. I do not believe that his pride is at fault, and I do not
belief he could have done things differently to exact a better outcome.
In
terms of the question of Oedipus' fate, a prediction was made about what would happen to
Oedipus, so if one is to believe in predictions, he had no control. However, it does not stop
his parents from trying. He is abandoned by his parents on a hillside to starve with the hope of
thwarting the prophecy. Oedipus is saved and raised in another royal household. Hearing of he
prophecy, he leaves his adopted home to protect his "father" (not knowing he is
adopted), only to meet his real father on his way and kill him.
A terrible
monster called the Sphinx kills all passing travelers who cannot answer his riddle. Oedipus does
this, and defeat the Sphinx so that travelers may safely move about. Oedipus is brought as a
hero into the city of Thebes (where he was born, though he does not know this). There he is
given in marriage to a widow as a reward: however, the woman is his mother, and so the prophecy
is fulfilled.
and his culture (the Greeks) believed in predestination: that
your life was mapped out for you before you were born, and that nothing could be done to change
the fate the gods had in store for you.
In this case, Oedipus
tries to do the right thing, which immediately puts him in the position of
not protecting his [adoptive] father as he had hoped, but killing his
real father and marrying his mother.
There was nothing
Oedipus could do to provide himself with a happy ending.
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