| One key aspect of fate that can be seen throughout the Oedipal Trilogy is the attempted denial of it. Many of the characters, such as Oedipus, Antigone, and Creon, all at some point and time attempt to deny, or not succumb to, fate. It is coincidental that the very actions they take in seeking to dodge or escape fate are the very things that lead them to it. | |
| This denial of fate can often be influenced by the “tragic flaw” principle, as described by Aristotle. Many times a sense of overconfidence, narcissism, greed, ignorance, or revenge can lead characters into the very path of their fate. Oedipus’s flaw is not necessarily a drastic and life-threatening one, it is more of a sense of vulnerability. His intelligence, along with his overconfidence and rashness, cause him to create a mindset that eventually makes him fall prey to the very fate that he is trying to escape from (cliffnotes.com). His desperate attempt to escape fate comes not from aspirations or pride, but from an innocent and honest desire to live without committing heinous offenses, especially against his own parents (sparknotes.com). Just as Oedipus begins to think that he has escaped fate by vowing never to return to Corinth, he mistakenly runs right into it. | |
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