Fate Versus Free Will

The theme of fate is alive before the play even begins. Jocasta and Laius discover that their son will be the killer of his own father and will then marry his mother. Attempting to alter the fate of the family, they try to kill their son. He does not die though; a shepherd finds the boy and gives him to a messenger. The baby is then given to the king and queen of Corinth. They name the baby Oedipus, meaning “swollen feet.”
Many years later, Oedipus is told that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Upon hearing this, he flees from Corinth. In his travels he gets into a fight…