Defiance/Denial
Many plays throughout history have brushed upon the idea of defiance or denial. One can see countless examples of characters that take matters into their own hands instead of accepting what is told/given to them. One could argue that in Prometheus Bound, Prometheus’ fate resulted from his denial or defiance of Zeus’ proclamation of killing all humans. He refused to accept the fact that the human race would be destroyed and decided to give humans fire. His actions angered Zeus and Prometheus was thus punished by being chained to a cliff. This same concept of refutation of fact is prevalent in both The Bacchae and Oedipus Rex.In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus refuses to accept his heinous fate. He tries to directly go against what was prophesized about his life by running away. This essentially leads to his exile. One wonders if this destiny could have been avoided by accepting what was told to him. Perhaps he would have stayed at his “home” and never encountered his true parents. This parallels with Pentheus in The Bacchae. In the beginning, Tiresia tells Pentheus of Dionysus’ strength and Pentheus responds by threatening the foreteller. This hostile resistance to fact resembles Oedipus. He also refuses to accept the fact that the stranger is Dionysus and that the women are being liberated by him. Then he defies everyone’s advice and continues pursuing his curiosity about the baccic rites. This is another example of how a character’s incapacity to accept what they are told results in their death or demise.
Therefore Prometheus Bound, Oedipus Rex, and The Bacchae all contain examples of characters that deny or defy prophecies. These characters end up suffering because of their resistance to the truth. Perhaps one is to conclude from these tales that sometimes it is better to face reality than to potentially suffer trying; and although these stories are indeed myths, one can draw the conclusion that a little bit of patience, acceptance, and understanding can prevent disastrous ends.
posted by Layne @ 12:00 PM
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