Some people say that there is no way to control your own life, that your life has been planned out for you ahead of time and there is nothing you can do to escape this fate. Others believe that your life is a matter of choice, and what happens to you during your life is a result of your actions. The story of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles seems to prove truth in both of these statements, that there is a life predetermined for you yet you can alter your life, but you can not escape your prophecy.
The quote “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul,” by William Henley states just the opposite of what seems to be proven in Oedipus Rex. Because of the references in the story of Oedipus, I disagree with the quote made by William Henley. In the quote made by William Henley he is saying that your life is a matter of choice, you control your life and what happens in it due to your actions. When using the perspective of Oedipus Rex when reading this quote, it seems to be proven untrue.
Through the plot of the story of Oedipus, you can come to the conclusion that there is no way to escape your fate, so therefore I disagree with this quote. There are many references in the novel that leads the quote to be untrue. Specifically proving this quote untrue is the theme of the novel. The theme is “do not deny or try to alter your fate. ” Just this statement completely contradicts the interpretation of the quote by William Henley. An example in the story that supports my opinion of the quote is when Tieresias identifies the murderer of Laios as Oedipus.
Also Tieresias foreshadows when saying “A revelation that will fail to please. A blind man who has eyes now; a penniless man, who is rich now. ” This prophecy is saying that in the future there will be a man that is blind and poor, opposite of what he is now. He is talking about Oedipus. The plot of the story leads up to show also that when Oedipus tries to run away from his prophecy, he actually runs into it. This is an example of irony. No matter what Oedipus does, he can’t escape his fate.
His actions don’t alter the outcome of his fate, they just alter the way in which the predestination occurs. Another example from the story that supports my disagreement with William Henley’s quote is when Iocaste and Laios get the prophecy saying that their son is going to kill Laios. This prophecy not only foreshadows the ending of the story but it also proves William Henley’s quote to be untrue. In an attempt to defeat the prophecy, Laios and Iocaste order for their baby son to be killed. The gods upon seeing this, alter his life path but make sure his fate remains the same.
So, somehow their baby son lives and when he is older comes back and kills Laios. Since this boy is Oedipus, he is following both his own oracle and the oracle of his father. Since there were two attempts made to alter this predestination, it therefore proves that no matter what you do, there is no way to change your destiny once the gods have decided it. Since there is no way to change your destiny, this therefore disproves the quote “I am the master or my fate; I am the captain of my soul,” stated by William Henley.
After looking through the perspective of Oedipus Rex towards William Henley’s quote, there is enough textual references to believe that this quote is not true. There were many places in the story that disproved the statements that destiny is a matter of choice and that man is the master of their own fate and soul. Of course, there are some people that will read this story and debate that he Oedipus does have a choice of his fate and his life could be altered not to follow his prophecy, but I feel that based on the book, he didn’t have a choice, or any way to alter his predestination.
