Thread by @SeanBerube4

Freud got Oedipus wrong

The myth is not about inc*st and repressed desire

Its much deeper — the story reveals a heartbreaking flaw of human nature

This one flaw haunted Aristotle, and shaped 3,000 years of Western thought on the soul…🧵

As a recap, Oedipus’ story begins with a prophecy:

King Laius of Thebes is told his son will murder him and marry Laius’ wife (the child’s mother)

To escape fate, he abandons Oedipus to a shepherd, who delivers Oedipus to Corinth

Later on, a full grown Oedipus is told the same prophecy:

“You’ll murder your father and marry your mother”

He flees Corinth, fearing King Polybus is his father

Ironically, running from his destiny only delivers him to fate

Oedipus later kills a man in self-defense at a crossroads

He then visits Thebes and conquers the legendary Sphinx, which had plagued the city

As reward, he’s made King of Thebes, since their own king mysteriously died…

Nonetheless, Oedipus rules nobly for 20 years

Unfortunately, in the present a new plague overruns Thebes

The city is cursed with famine and death

Oedipus consults an oracle, who says the plague will end on one condition:

If the murderer of former king Laius is brought to justice

Oedipus swears to find the killer

Ironically, HE is the killer, but no one else knows it

Filled with pride as a virtuous king, Oedipus seeks to find the killer

But the further he searches, the more he despairs

Oedipus’ advisors beg him to call off the search, but Oedipus refuses:

He has too much pride to quit

He finds a shepherd who claims to have witness Laius’ death

The news he shares horrifies Oedipus

The shepherd perfectly recounts the same events where Oedipus killed Laius

He realizes in horror that he’s the murderer

Perhaps even worse, he realizes he married his mother, Jocasta

She realizes too, but her fate is… not good

In despair, Jocasta hangs herself

Oedipus finds her corpse, wails, and grabs her hairpins

He gouges out his own eyes and promises to serve justice to the killer:

He banishes himself from city, left to live in shame as a blinded beggar

Why did Aristotle call this the greatest tragedy ever written?

It has to deal with an Ancient Greek concept — harmatia — which translates to fatal flaw

Oedipus’ harmatia was hubris, and it points to a brutal truth of human nature

Oedipus sought to be Thebes’ savior

Scholars call him “godlike” in that he is both cause and solution to the plague:

Much like how the greek gods themselves both caused and solved plagues

But Oedipus is not a God, so his “salvation,” is also self-destruction

Oedipus’ search for Truth is honorable, but creates his downfall

This is why his tragedy is so great:

He did nothing wrong. His downfall points to the weakness of human nature:

Man is finite and flawed, and tragedy lies at the heart his existence...

The play itself glumly concludes:

“Let no man be happy until he is dead”

While it’s understandable what makes this play a great tragedy, what makes it “good”?

What moral lesson does it teach?

Paradoxically, man’s meditation on his limits is curative

In suffering there is wisdom, and Oedipus has the ultimate redemption arc:

As a blind beggar, he becomes a prophetic, wise sage

It’s ironic - only in blind humility does he grasp heavenly truth

Oedipus dies of old age in peace, as a respected prophet

Better yet, his grave spot is consecrated and blessed by the gods:

He guided the souls of Ancient Greece to virtue thereafter

The play then, stresses the Socratic notion of “know thyself”

Oedipus as a proud and great king was blind, unaware of his own faults

Oedipus as a blind and humble beggar became great-souled

Humility showed him heavenly Truth and gave him identity

To understand human nature is to know we’re finite and flawed

Tragedy is tied to existence, and suffering is guaranteed

But to bare it with patience, like Oedipus, is to earn favor with Providence

Seek first humility, and you can bare any storm

So Oedipus is both a great tragedy, and a great redemption

The tragedy is this is a fallen world — you can be destroyed without fault

But the beauty is, suffering cannot conquer the human spirit

Oedipus carries his pain, perseveres, and becomes a heavenly sage

The moral is humility conquers suffering

Pain pushes you to seek heavenly truth, like Oedipus

And such a curse lets a soul bear any burden...

A life lived for Truth is never a life lived in vain

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