How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #7
OEDIPUS. I killed. But for me it has…
CHORUS. What is this?
OEDIPUS. . . . Something of justice.
CHORUS. How so?
OEDIPUS. [. . .] But by law I am pure and I came to this in ignorance. (546-48)
Oedipus also points out that when he killed his father he was acting in self-defense. It would be a totally justified killing by law; the only problem was that the guy who attacked him and that he killed in self-defense happened to be his father. This is a crime against the gods, whether human law permits it or not.
Quote #8
OEDIPUS. Your mouth broadcasts against me murders and
Marriage and misfortunes—things which I, in my misery,
Bore involuntarily! For thus was it dear to the gods.
Perhaps They nursed an ancient wrath against my family. (962-65)
Oedipus finally arrives to the cause of his troubles. He believes that the gods must have a problem with his family, which caused them to force him to commit his awful crimes without his knowledge. Fate is a punishment in this case, and it’s not against Oedipus personally, but rather against his whole family.
Quote #9
OEDIPUS. For—instruct me—if some divine utterance came through oracles
To my father, that he would die at the hands of his children,
How would you justly reproach me for this—
I who was not yet sired by my father nor
Conceived by my mother, but was then unbegotten? (969-73)
Oedipus explains his theory a little further. He believes the gods are mad at his family, and his proof is that the prophesy that said he would kill his father came before he was ever even conceived. So if anything the fate was meant for his parents, but Oedipus was just a pawn in the gods’ evil plan.