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Oedipus
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Act VIAct Summaries & Analyses
Act VI Summary
Oedipus, now blinded, expresses his relief, feeling he has paid for endangering Thebes. Jocasta enters, frantic. She struggles to find the right word to refer to her husband-son. When Oedipus hears Jocasta’s voice, he rejoices that he is reunited with his mother.
Jocasta tries to reassure Oedipus that he should bear no guilt due to fate. Oedipus rejects this argument. His rejection causes Jocasta to reflect on her own culpability. She grabs Oedipus’s sword and stabs herself to death.
Oedipus responds by calling out to the gods. He feels guilty that his mother also suffered because of him. As further punishment for himself, he abdicates the throne and exiles himself from Thebes. The play ends with Oedipus leaving the city, hoping he is taking the plague with him and preventing further tragedies.
Act VI Analysis
Oedipus’s gruesome appearance upon his reentrance symbolizes both his dramatic internal change and the severity of his sins. Without eyes, his physical blindness contrasts with his new-found ability to see his sins and accept his fate. In contrast to his metaphorical blindness, this physical “darkness is sweet” (999). His sense of relief stems from the certainty of his fate.
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