The Tragedy of Blindness, Essay Example

Othello and Oedipus the King: The Tragedy of Blindness

Introduction

A man’s inability to reliably distinguish between what seems to be and what actually is is a common theme in literature. Numerous authors discussed and tried to define the reasons, which make people morally and physically blind to the truth. Humans appear increasingly vulnerable to the risks and the effects of disguise. Moreover, they will choose to deceive themselves whenever they are unwilling to admit the obvious. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and William Shakespeare’s Othello, the “uncertain vision” is a shared theme. Oedipus does not want to describe and analyze the complexities of his past. In his turn, Othello refuses to recognize the loyalty and innocence of his wife. In both stories, the boundary between the truth and unclear vision is too obvious to ignore, but where Oedipus’s blindness is caused by his noble status and a subconscious desire to conceal the truth from the public, Othello’s unclear vision is the product of his own pride, the victim of which he ultimately falls.

Pride and nobility are the two different sides of one moral conflict in literature. Characters use their noble status to justify their decision to ignore the truth. Pride makes characters blind and leaves no room for objectivity and justice. One of the most serious sins, pride adds to the complexity of moral tortures and makes it difficult for literary characters to deal with the negative effects of the “uncertain vision” on their perceptions about reality. Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Shakespeare’s Othello reveal one notable commonality: both stories deal with the theme of truth and show how difficult it can be for a person to distinguish between what seems to be and what actually is. However, how Oedipus and Othello justify their failure to distinguish between a myth and the reality makes them completely different: where nobility is responsible for Oedipus’s “blindness”, Othello’s “unclear vision” is the product of his own pride, the victim of which he ultimately falls.

That nobility is an important thematic line in Oedipus the King cannot be denied. Sophocles depicts Oedipus as the man of the utmost morality, nobility, and intellectual excellence (Smith 91). Oedipus’s heroic nature is easy to see: “My children, latest born to Cadmus old, why sit ye here as suppliants, in your hands Branches of olive filleted with wool?” (Sophocles). The very first lines of Sophocles’ tragedy show Oedipus as equally noble and open with his people. Oedipus cannot conceal his nobility and intellect; nor is he willing to deal with secrets and conspiracies. For this reason, Oedipus wants to resolve the conflict between him and his past: “Oh speak, Withhold not, I adjure thee, if thou know’st, Thy knowledge. We are all thy suppliants” (Sophocles). Needless to say, the lack of knowledge about his own self burdens Oedipus. However, the search for the truth in Oedipus coincides with and contradicts to his striving to never know anything about himself. Oedipus, probably, feels that the truth may ruin his family and, ultimately, his life. The moment he and Jocasta discuss the Laius is, actually, the moment of truth – this is the first time Oedipus questions his striving to discover the truth: “Why should a mortal man, the sport of chance, With no assured foreknowledge, be afraid? Best live a careless life from hand to mouth” (Sophocles). Oedipus is not willing to recognize and admit the obvious, because he knows he will not be able to refute the arguments; for this reason, he decides to live his life without paying attention to the facts.

Othello spends his life separated from the objective reality. His “friends” and personal ego manipulate his life and throw Othello into the sequence of tragic events (Payne 45). Othello is increasingly proud of who he is and who he can be. He is extremely decisive in his life choices and is not willing to surrender his position and status: “I shall promulgate – I fetch my life and being / From men of royal siege, and my demerits, / may speak unbonneted to as proud as fortune / As this that I have reach’d: for know, Iago” (Shakespeare I.3). Whether Othello’s decisiveness is the basic reason Desdemona chooses to stay with him is difficult to define, but it is clear that Othello’s pride does not leave Desdemona a single chance to protect her life. Othello’s pride makes him blind. It is the driver that pushes Othello to murder Desdemona before she can prove her innocence.

Pride and nobility are the two motives that differentiate Othello from Oedipus. Nobility does not let Oedipus recognize the truth. Othello’s unclear vision is the product of his own pride, the victim of which he ultimately falls. “Ay, let her rot, and perish, and be damned to-night; for she shall not live; no, my heart is turned to stone; I strike it, and it hurts my hand” (Shakespeare, V.1). What is unconscious and unnatural for Oedipus is quite logical for Othello, whose pride turns him into a monster. Payne is correct in that pride is Othello’s principal weakness (45). However, the willingness to ignore the obvious never goes unpunished: neither Othello nor Oedipus can withstand the pressure of their own characters and have to surrender their future under the pressure of circumstances.

Conclusion

A man’s inability to reliably distinguish between what seems to be and what really is is a common theme in literature. The “uncertain vision” is a shared theme for Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and William Shakespeare’s Othello. In both stories, the boundary between the truth and unclear vision is too obvious to ignore, but where Oedipus’s blindness is caused by his noble status and a subconscious desire to conceal the truth from the public, Othello’s unclear vision is the product of his own pride, the victim of which he ultimately falls. Sophocles depicts Oedipus as the man of the highest nobility and morality, which he can lose if he chooses to open his eyes and see the obvious. Othello, in his turn, cannot see anything but his own pride and status. Yet, the willingness to ignore the obvious never goes unpunished: neither Othello nor Oedipus can withstand the pressure of their own characters and have to surrender their future under the pressure of circumstances.

Works Cited

Payne, P.H. A Search for Meaning: Critical Essays on Early Modern Literature. Peter Lang, 2004

Shakespeare, W. “Othello, the Moore of Venice.” Shakespeare Archive. Web. 23 September 2010

Smith, H.L. Masterpieces of Classic Greek Drama. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.

Sophocles. “Oedipus the King.” Transl. by F. Storr. Classical Literature Archive. Web. 23 September 2010.