Essay on Sin in Sophocles Oedipus the King and Ibsens Ghosts

The Impact of criminality in Sophocles Oedipus the King and Ibsens Ghosts Sophocles play Oedipus the King was written for a Hellenic audience as a religious right and lesson around both thousand years ago, while Ibsens play Ghosts was written as a criticism of the Norwegian society during the 1890s. Although these plays were written for very different reasons and chthonic different circumstances, the universal theme connecting them is mankinds liability to sin because the results affect a greater whole. One of the more specific themes of these plays is the negative effect that parents sins gain upon the generations to follow. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is born the son of Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes. However, when they hear Apollos soothsaying (that Oedipus will kill his father and sleep with his mother) they decide to destroy Oedipus. Apollos prophecy made Oedipus an unwanted child. In this case, the parents transgression of the law was that they atte mpted to reserve the gods by evading Apollos prophecy. Later Jocasta states that no skill in the world, nothing human, batch penetrate the future (Sophocles 201). Oedipus, as a later response to her line says, ...all those prophecies I feared - Polybus packs them off to sleep with him in hell Theyre nothing, worthless (Sophocles 214). In this way, Oedipus and Jocasta quit believing in the prophecies altogether. In Ghosts, Regine is the result of an affair that maitre d Alving had with the housemaid, Johanna. Since Regine is a child born out of wedlock, she is unwanted by schoolmaster Alving because she is the result of his sin, and if anyone were to discover her true origins it could destroy the respect that society has for him. She is to a fault unwant... ...ther sins and results that happened after that would never have occurred. In short, do not allow your pride blind you to the knowledge of those who are wiser than you. In Ghosts, Ibsens message is that the Norwegian soci ety was hypocritical and unmoral. This is shown through Oswalds suffering because he is simply a victim who is paying for what a hypocritical society permits - mens immorality. The overall idea behind this play is that hypocrites should not criticize others as Manders criticizes Oswald the companions that he chose during his stay in Paris. However, they are both combined by the mixed link of sin and its effects on the whole. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. Four study Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. New York Oxford UP, 1998 Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York Penguin Classics, 1984