Oedipus and Free Will

I've never escaped a literary class without talking about Sophocles' famous drama Oedipus Rex, which was written about 429 B.C. (holy cow!)  Even so, I happen to learn something new each time!  This time while reading it, I tried to pick up on something different and stretch myself.

One of the main themes of Oedipus often analyzed is the theme of "fate."  I would take things as far as to say that Oedipus' hubris (aka, fatal-flaw) is his lack of free will.  I guess that is sort of a backwards answer because his hubris is more of an externally based flaw (inflicted by the gods) instead of something that comes from within himself, such as pride.  But, the story clearly shows that Oedipus is really laking in the ability to choose his situation.  He didn't have any control over the fact that he was abandoned as a baby and he didn't have any beforehand knowledge that his wife was actually his mother.  Of course, one can say that he had control over whether to kill the king, but one also has to remember that he only fled Corinth because he was fleeing the prophecy.

I've always seen Oedipus as an ironic character of sorts.  As a reader, I feel pity for him and his situation.  At the same time, though, I tend to laugh at his misfortune.  His story is tragic because one thing after another seems to tear the poor guy down--It's so tragic that it's almost funny.  I know sometimes when bad things happen to me repeatedly, it's so horrible that it's often funny.  The joke is on me though, I interpret the story of Oedipus to mean that sometimes, situations are just out of our control.  I am not saying that my actions and the actions of Oedipus do not have consequences, but a lot of the time, we are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I think that the story of Oedipus shows that unfortunate situations can happen to anyone; everyone, at one point or another, will experience Oedipus' hubris of lack of free will.