Universal ideas inOedipus RexandA Doll’s House1 Angelina Barsoum Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute ENG3UE April, 29th, 2020 In Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles and A Doll's House, written by Henrik Ibsen, there are many common universal ideas. Oedipus Rex, a story about a king trying to escape his tragic fate set by the God Apollo, and A Dolls House, about a young married woman who fights her battles with gender roles in the late 1870s. Even though both plays are written in very different time frames, they share three common themes; fate vs free will, self-discovery, and blindness. Each play portrays its ideas and thoughts on each universal topic, which is what is going to be discussed today. Throughout both plays, there is a common theme of blindness. To be more specific blindness to the truth and physical blindness. In A Doll’s House, Nora is blind to the reality that Torvald treats her as less because of societal standards. An example of this is when Nora dances the tarantella before the ball, Torvald says, “Oh, of course not. Its nothing more than this childish anxiety I was telling you about.” (Ibsen 93). Before this was said, Torvald was continuously giving her directions and demands to make the dance look as perfect as possible. In the line above, he calls her childish, which has a direct correlation to being incompetent, subordinate, and simple-minded, which is why he gives her these rules and demands. He and Dr. Rank even accuse her of being hormonal, wondering why she’s acting so anxious. All these examples, plus
Universal ideas inOedipus RexandA Doll’s House2 many more, show that Henrik used Nora as a metaphor for all women during the 1800s. They were all undermined by men, treated as less, and could not even see that this was happening, therefore being blind-sighted to the intense sexism of the time. The theme of blindness is much more prevalent; in Oedipus Rex, there are physical and metaphorical examples. For example, when Teiresias says, Listen to me. You mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes, are blind: You cannot see the wretchedness of your life, Nor in those you live, no, nor with whom. Who are your father and mother? Can you tell me? You do not even know the blind wrongs that you have done to them, on earth and in the world below. But the double lash of your parents’ curse will whip you out of this land someday, with only night Upon your precious eyes. (400-409). This quotation is an excellent example of both the physical and metaphorical blindness because Teiresias tells him that despite himself being blind, Oedipus is blind to much more than he is. He tells Oedipus about the prophecy, and he becomes blinded with rage and pride. Almost every character is blind in someway; Teiresias is blind, Oedipus, Iokastȇ, and Kreon are all willingly
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