Blinded by the Truth

The motif of blindness is a major one in Oedipus. Oedipus is blind to his true identity .When attempting to locate Laius’ murderer, Oedipus consults Tiresias, the blind prophet. Although Tiresias is blind, he sees more than others do. When he names Oedipus as the murderer, Oedipus begins to mock the old man. During the confrontation, Tiresias replies, “You mock my blindness do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes are blind”. Oedipus and Tiresias are opposites of one another. Although Tiresias is physically blind, he sees the truth and while Oedipus still has his eyesight, he is blind to the truth. This quotation proves ironic at the end of the play when Oedipus really does blind himself upon discovering that his wife and the mother of his children, Jocasta, is also his own mother. Originally, Oedipus is viewed as very insightful, intelligent and reliable by his people. The Thebans trust his word more than anyone else’s. However Oedipus’ blindness to the truth shows that human knowledge can only go so far. Not only was Oedipus blind to his true identity, he was blind to Tiresias’ efforts to inform him of the truth. Looking at the juxtaposition of Tiresias’ and Oedipus’ characters, as human beings, are we all essentially “blind” in one way or another?