Oedipus personality fits some of Aristotle’s qualities of being a high-minded man. Oedipus’ character speaks the truth, acts openly, and is concerned with honor, but he did not have the gift of fortune. He acts rash and takes swift action that had consequences on his fate.

Oedipus the King： #8：Oedipus calls himself an “abomination” for killing his father and marrying his mother. First of all, he is a good emperor， even killing his father is forced to be helpless, because his father wants to hurt his life, so his killing of his father is a means of self-defense.

Ultimately Oedipus’ character is a fundamentally good, moral and brave person who suffers a terrible fate. However, he is not without his flaws. Aristotle argues that a tragic hero can’t be perfect. Instead, they should have a fatal flaw, or “hamartia,” which results in their tragic downfall.

Laius

Once Oedipus realizes that he was not able to avoid the prophecy and is responsible for the plague, he is disgusted with himself and stabs his own eyes using Jocasta’s golden brooches. Oedipus blinding himself reflects his emotional pain and reveals that he has taken responsibility for his actions.

The moral of Oedipus Rex is that pride goes before the fall. Oedipus has immense pride, so much pride that he believes he can outsmart the gods who prophesied, via the oracle of Delphi, that he would kill his father and marry his mother.

Guilt and Shame. The play begins with a declaration from the oracle at Delphi: Thebes is suffering because the person guilty of the murder of King Laius has not been brought to justice. Oedipus sets himself the task of discovering the guilty party—so guilt, in the legal sense, is central to Oedipus Rex.

There are many universal lessons to be learned by Oedipus and his tragic story; lessons that every man today could benefit from, such as the downfalls of arrogance and selfishness, the grave mistakes in being judgmental and sanctimonious, and the repercussions of being quick to act without sufficient knowledge.

The two most prominent themes in Oedipus Rex are: Knowledge, as it relates to oneself, one’s family, and one’s society at large. The dominant motif in the play is, of course, sight and blindness. We have a brash young king with perfect outward sight who is blind to his own self-knowledge and his family history.

What is Oedipus’ tragic flaw, or hamartia? It is hubris or pride. Upon reaching adulthood and hearing the prophecy that he will murder his father and take his mother as his own wife, he attempts to flee the fate the gods have laid out before him by leaving Corinth.

While the old man moves to strike the insolent youth with his scepter, Oedipus throws the man down from his chariot, killing him. Thus, the prophecy in which Oedipus slays his own father is fulfilled, as the old man—as Oedipus discovers later—was Laius, king of Thebes and true father to Oedipus.

Oedipus

The Oedipus complex, a theory that suggests that every single person has deeply repressed incestuous instincts for their parents since childhood, is no less so. Critics of Freud have noted that, despite the case of Little Hans, there is very little empirical evidence to prove the theory’s validity.

The Electra complex is a term used to describe the female version of the Oedipus complex. It involves a girl, aged between 3 and 6, becoming subconsciously sexually attached to her father and increasingly hostile toward her mother. Carl Jung developed the theory in 1913.