Oedipus Quote Discussion 4 10-20-09

"Had I only died then. I should not now be leaving. All I love and mine so sadly shattered" (Sophocles,73). In saying this, Oedipus shows how distressed he is because of the situation that has just become clear to him. He states that he would rather have died as a baby, because if that were the case, he would not have been doomed by the oracle and he would not have caused pain on so many people that he came to love. This is the first time in the text that Oedipus is really open about taking the blame for something and realizing that he was the reason his mother/wife committed suicide, his father died, and for all the confusion the entire city of Thebes has faced.