Untitled - Memorial University of Newfoundland

tragic flaw, his sin of hubris . brought about his tragedy and caused his change in
fortune. Michael Grant. in Myths ofthe Greeks and Romans. suggests that "in an age
of fighting and killing (Oedipus} killed hot-headedly at the crossroads when provoked.
and he shows fits of hubris in his over-confident. rash handling of the present
situation. Yet these things are not the main. or at least the sole cause of his disaster"
(198). Here, Grant implies that while not being the main or sole cause, Oedipus' fits
of hubris contributed to his disaster. In other words. Oedipus must have done
something to cause his tragic fall; certainly. the gods should not take all the blame .
Such an interpretation fails to take into consideration the fact that Oedipus committed
the deeds before the beginning of the play; OedipusRex seems concerned not so much
with the deeds themselves but with the degree to which they point to the limited
possibility of human freedom. From his report of what happened at the place where
three roads meet. Oedipus himself was only acting in self defense .
In The God's Are Not To Blame. Rotimi 's transformation of Oedipus Rex links
the Sophoclean tragic character with the Aristotelian and Shakespearean models while
at the same time reflecting the African worldview. In Dem Say, Rotimi explains:
The idea of absolute subservience to the gods. and acceptance of the
immutability of fate which is a recurrent motif in early Greek drama. to
a large measure dictated the direction and outcome of the original
Oedipus tragedy. Quite interestingly, traditional Nigerian religions also
do acknowledge the power of predestination. Furthermore, our religions
appreciate the wisdom in personal submission - submission not only to
the gods of the land but also to the memory of departedancestors. (62­
63).
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