male, or in another situation the dominant female, and to procreate. Thus, it would follow that the boundaries against patricide and incest are created by society not nature. Two people completely alone, regardless of their societal relationships are to one another, are simply two people. Such an answer most certainly does not satisfy every one. Instead one might state that the sharp twinge of repulsion that many feel for Oedipus, upon reading the play for the first time, occurs because of the scenarios assault upon an instinctual sense of natural boundaries that are inherent to human beings. Whatever the answer may be, for many people it seems more probable that, if mother and son or father and daughter were the sole survivors on earth, the prospect of preserving of the human race would not stand a chance.A disgusting pioneer in the realm of carnal truth, by the end of the play, Oedipus encompasses many different titles. Not really knowing who his parents are causes him to doubt himself. Told he is a bastard Oedipus goes to the oracle at Delphi. There, Oedipus is told his life's prophecy. Disregarding the reason he originally went to the oracle, he runs away from his assumed parents, to the fulfillment of the Oracles' prophecy. In Oedipus' mind, leaving the people he thought were his father and mother destroys the power of the prophecy. Through such isolation Oedipus believes that he has solidified the roles of father, mother, and son. Nevertheless, removing his presumed parents from his life only served to destroy any remaining sight Oedipus may have had. Ironically, Oedipus taunts Tiresias with the prophet's own blindness, in line 389. Truth in "Oedipus Tyrannus," is a powerful force the strength of which may only be felt by knowing. To know one's self, to know one's carnal truth, is the foundation of personal strength. Oedipus and Tiresias are enslaved men who are driven by their particular interpretations of the seemingly ambiguous...
