Sophocles, Truth Seeking, and Knowledge

In his Oedipus the King, Sophocles sends a strange message about the power of knowledge. The Theban society both rewards and punishes knowledge. Knowledge and wisdom are what allow Oedipus to answer the riddle of the Sphinx and consequently attain greatness in Thebes. Regardless of his tragic methods, Oedipus pursues knowledge of Laios’s death even against Teiresias’s advice. Indeed, his dogged pursuit of the truth leads to his downfall. Oedipus was revered for his intelligence and just rule, but his pursuit of additional knowledge was deemed inappropriate by the gods. Thus, Sophocles appears to suggest that there is a limit to what Oedipus – or any man – should know. Perhaps Oedipus’s brash invective against Teiresias and Creon was rooted in a desire to understand something that humans were not meant to comprehend. If that is true, then Oedipus’s flaw is less of ruling unjustly (without any facts to support his accusations) than it is of hubris. Oedipus thinks he knows better than Teiresias – a messenger of the gods – and is entitled to the seer’s knowledge of Laios’s murder.

However, following the definition of a tragic mistake, that would mean that Oedipus would not have reached his terrible downfall if he had not blindly lashed out at Teiresias and Creon. Iocaste seems to support that hypothesis when she begs Oedipus not to continue searching for the truth of Laios’s death. It is understood that Oedipus should have respected Teiresias’s decision to withhold information. If Oedipus had not sought the truth of his father’s death, he would still have unwittingly fulfilled the initial prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother, but he would never have suffered the disgrace of finding out. He would not have been forced to confront his incestuous relationship and would not have shamed his family. Teiresias would never have had occasion to predict Oedipus’s humbling fall to become a “blind man / who has his eyes now; a penniless man, who is rich now / and he will go tapping the strange earth with his staff…” In short, Oedipus would never have been fated to disgrace and therefore, he would never have fulfilled that prophecy.

Oedipus was loved in Thebes and could probably have remained a popular and effective leader if he had not allowed his pride to cloud his judgment. However, even with his sight, Oedipus was not able to see what lay right in front of him. He sought a truth denied to him and it cost him his sight, his honor, and his family.

Ilych's Epiphany

The detailed account of Ivan Ilych’s last moments is simultaneously chilling in its realism and reassuring in its final message. The reader identifies directly with the man who seeks advancement and small pleasures in meaningless activities. Despite his awareness that Ivan Ilych is an extreme case, the reader recognizes in himself Ilych’s ability to focus on trivialities. Tolstoy thus uses both the reader’s innate fear of death as well as a sympathetic protagonist to carry his message. Tolstoy reminds the reader that in spite of Ilych’s agony, redemption is possible.

In his final moments, Ivan realizes that his inability to move forward towards death is due to his insistence that he had lived a moral life. Ivan feels that he must justify his life as an upright one and prove that he is undeserving of his misery. He had observed all the niceties of society and did what he grasped to be the “right thing.” Therefore, his actions cannot be the reason for his suffering. Ivan wants to hold onto life until he finds a reason for his early and painful demise. Ironically, Ivan clings to real life only once it is leaving him. He eschewed human connection so long as it was in his grasp.

He can only move on peacefully when he comes to terms with the fact that he has not done anything to merit the evasion of human suffering. By acknowledging the pettiness of his own life, he is able to understand the actions of his family and no longer hold them accountable for it. His realization that his family acts the way he used to allows him to feel a compassion that he had not even known during his life. Tragically, Ivan does not feel true empathy until the moments before his death. His hatred disappears and he no longer feels the need to fight death, because he now knows that he did not lead a proper life. Having examined Gerasim’s actions, Ivan is now able to admit to himself that he did not live a good life. Ilych realizes the futility of changing his wife and daughter’s actions, knowing full well that they may someday have the epiphany that he is experiencing at that moment. Nevertheless, the reader sees hope for Ilych’s young son, who still knows compassion, and for himself now forewarned by Tolstoy’s powerful story.