A place where three roads meet -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1], 2 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 16:00:08 03/09/08 Sun
Author: JD Reed
Subject: A place where three roads meet

In Oedipus Tyrannus, we see that Oedipus murders Laius in a place where three roads meet. When using mimetic theory, I think we could reduce this statement to the idea that Oedipus place as the scapegoat really comes to exist as a result from three instances of acquisitive mimesis that Oedipus himself constructs. The very first instance is in his acquisitive relationship between the external mediator of Apollo. Oedipus is approached by a priest who beseeches his aid for the ravaging plague; we know that Apollo is seen as the god of justice, light, purification, prophecy, plague and healing. Also, Oedipus shows himself as exhibiting many of the characteristics of Apollo: an administrator of justice, a healer, bringer of plagues (unknown to him though), a healer of plagues and purifier of the community, and embodiment of light (perhaps in the way he sheds light on prophecies). The second rivalry we see with Oedipus involves Tiresias; Tiresias does not want to cause more trouble for Oedipus and the community so he wishes to remain silent so Oedipus casts blame on him by calling him an enemy, he also says that it would have taken the skills of a seer to defeat the Sphinx, yet Tiresias could not do this while Oedipus could. In this way, Oedipus has put himself in a position of rivalry with Tiresias. Finally, he does the exact same thing with Creon. Creon explicitly says that he does not wish to possess the throne because he would be at risk of danger, yet directly after this Oedipus claims that Creon desires to steal his throne away. Creon even says "Casting off a true friend is like casting off your greatest prize-your life. In creating a rival out of Creon, he has fully isolated himself and formed a situation in which the community can unanimously be against him. The final piece of this puzzle is the actual murder of Laius. Oedipus' description is as follows: "The old one, ordered me out of the path. I refused. The driver pushed. In anger, I struck him. The old man saw it...the struck me on the head...As he lay there helpless-on his back-I killed him. I killed them all." The scene is a very depiction of reciprocated violence that traps itself in a cycle. Thus we can see that through Oedipus three mimetic rivalries he has come to a point where the violence has begun and has trapped him in its cycle: he has caused violence in a place where three roads meet.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Re: A place where three roads meet -- Hwaet!, 20:37:46 03/09/08 Sun