Throughout many historical plays, the reputation and pride of the protagonist are challenged heavily. In "Oedipus the King" the grasp of a spotless reputation is what brings pride into one's life. Oedipus faces two major obstacles in this play that highlight this reoccurring matter. When the oracle, Tiresias, suggests that Oedipus, himself, killed the old king of Thebes, the whole city stands in disbelief. Oedipus, first irrational with rage, later becomes worried as he receives more details about the old king's death. He may be responsible for this wretched murder, and instead of having his reputation tainted, he would rather "slip from the world of men, vanish without a trace" (920-921). This shows the extent of shame that is felt by even one wrong-doing.An action isn't essential in order to see the fear of dwindling pride. Young Oedipus decided to run away from the kingdom he grew up in because a prophecy told that he is "fated to couple with [his] mother and...kill [his] father" (873-875). Since this was a possibility, Oedipus left the family he loved just to save his reputation and keep his pride as a man with morals. Does this obsession with preventing possibilities verses going with the flow of life help him protect his image, or does it blind him to what is really happening in the present? Oedipus is trying to put a puzzle together without knowing what the picture looks like, and he will only end up with random pieces surrounding him.
I like how you pointed out that Oedipus's obsession with having a good reputation is one of his fatal flaws, or hamartia. He could be considered a foil to Claudius from Hamlet. Like Oedipus, Claudius cared greatly about his reputation; this drove him to an extreme of killing his own brother for the crown. Oedipus left his own family to gain a good reputation. Ultimately, both Claudius and Oedipus allowed the desire for a worthy reputation to come before their own families.
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