Blog Post #2- A new sense of a happy ending

After reading Oedipus Rex, I realized that not all "happy endings" are necessarily happy. In Oedipus Rex, the end of the play consists of the queen committing suicide, Oedipus stabbing his eyes, exiling himself, and the people of Labdakos in general disbelief as of who the actual murderer of their former king was.

It seems as though most people after reading about such events as I just listed would take the pessimistic view that this ending was not only unhappy, but dead aweful. On the contrary, after discussions in class about Oedipus's fate, I realized that the ending to the play was quite the opposite of aweful.

Maybe the events weren't exactly what the reader would want to happen, but the fact is that they HAD to happen. You can't escape your fate, and that is what this play is trying to tell us. I felt bad for Oedipus at the end of the play, but this was because his fate was determined for him before he could even walk. However, I understand now that although it is his fate, he is still in control of it. Basically, he still possesses free-will within his fate.

With Oedipus in exile, the great plague in Labdakos would be lifted and the people would once again be able to live happily. Sure, some crazy stuff had to happen to make that possible, but that's a pretty happy ending to me.




"Oh my God, a freshman!" -Larry Munson