Hamartia: Oedipus' Tragic Flaw

One might expect that a quick and even murderous temper would be considered a serious impediment to Oedipus. However, he is quite justified in his rage against Creon and Tiresias, and he has good reasons to suspect them of plotting against him. From the view point of Oedipus, he has just discovered that the antecedent king Laius was savagely murdered along with the members of his entourage. Furthermore the murder has yet to be solved many years l

Oedipus' name means "swollen foot." Could it be that Oedipus has a swollen head? Is his pride the damning characteristic? The fatal flaw? There is no evidence in the text to support this view. It also does not make sense that this would be a flaw. The Greeks did not see pride as a negative attribute. There is evidence of this in other Greeks works where entire wars were fought to protect the pride of one man over the loss of a woman(Helen). Although today's readers may see pride as a poor characteristic to have, the audience the play was initially designed for would not have seen it that way, and Aristotle himself almost definitely would not have considered pride to be a tragic flaw.

Oedipus, although living in self imposed exile, still considers himself to be of royal blood. Therefore any offense, especially by some old man and his servants, is cause for a serious reprimand. In the case of Oedipus, this means murder. Although one could argue that Laius' actions are justified because he is a king, therefore superior, there is no evidence in the text to suggest that either man knows the status of the other. The entire episode is a really grisly incident of road rage.

ater, and the gods have placed a plague on his city until the murderer(s) is apprehended and punished. After learning of the death of Laius, Oedipus concludes that the murderer is "a thief, so daring, so wild, he'd kill a king? [It's] impossible, unless conspirators p

Some topics in this essay:
Laius Oedipus, Cornith Oedipus, Cornith Laius, King Greek, Creon Tiresias, According Aristotle, Oedipus Oracle, Mulder Scully, Laius Oracle, Oedipus Laius, examination text, tragic hero, close examination text, evidence text, close examination,