What do we cherish in life? Friendship. Loyalty. Honesty. These are all important things we value as people, especially in relationships. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, a common theme from both of these stories are relationships between a parent and a child, how they play a role in each other’s lives, and whether these values affect their relationships. In the ancient Greek play Oedipus the King, Oedipus finds out that he is the murderer of his own father, a defiler of his mother’s bed, as well as the cause of the plague in Thebes. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is the son to the late, as well as the nephew to the new king, Claudius, who has taken over the throne of Denmark and marries his mother. As we further explore the relationships between the protagonists in Oedipus the King and Hamlet, we are able to see whether or not these values of friendship, loyalty, and honesty come into play in family relations and how these relationships can impact others.
Oedipus Abandoned as a Child
In Oedipus the King, the story revolves around the concept of family relations (or blood-relations rather) and how Oedipus is oblivious that his wife is also his own mother and that he had murdered his own father. Jokasta says, “A long time back, an oracle reached Laios…It says that Laios was destined to die at the hands of a son born to him and me” (Sophocles 726). Oedipus is cursed since birth and is destined to murder his father and marry his mother, Jokasta. With this knowledge in mind, when Oedipus was just a baby, Oedipus’ parents decided that they wanted to get rid of their child in order to avoid their fate. Right from the start, Oedipus’ parents heavily influenced their child’s life when making the decision to abandon their child. The core values of friendship, loyalty, and honesty that family relationships are generally based upon has already been diminished from the start. Moreover, Oedipus’ parents did not wish to carry out their relationship with their child. This played an essential role in how their child was eventually raised and brought up. Oedipus was raised by another family, who had also kept him from the truth. Had their parent/child relationship been stronger, and these core family values been established, these turn of events may have played out differently.
Oedipus Abandoning His Children (Toward the End)
Oedipus says toward the end of the play, “Expel me quickly to some place where no living person will find me” (Sophocles 744). Oedipus suffers from his punishment of banishing himself from the land and being forced to abandon his children. This also ties into the parent/child relationship theme because Oedipus’ actions cripplingly influence his offspring’s future. His actions ultimately cause the rest of his family to suffer. Oedipus’ children will be forced to grow up without their parents to guide them; a mother (Jokasta) who later commits suicide because of the truth, and a father who abandons them. Clearly, it is easier to foster a relationship between a parent and a child once the core values of friendship, loyalty, and honesty are established. However, in the play Hamlet, these values are not established fully either.
(From Left to Right): Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet
In Hamlet, Hamlet’s relationship with his parents is unsteady to say the least. In the first act, Hamlet says “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! … But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue!” (Shakespeare 665). Hamlet is disappointed in his mother, the Queen, for marrying his uncle so quickly after his father died. This shatters him, making him become more cynical, distrustful of women, and misogynistic. Hamlet says “Let me not think on’t—Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Shakespeare 664). Hurt by how quickly his mother acted after his father died, he not only calls his mother “frail” and weak, but he says that all women are weak as well. This relationship Hamlet has with his mother has an effect on his perspective in life and changes the way he treats other women, such as Ophelia. Honesty is one of the core values in relationships that failed to be established between Hamlet and his parents.
Hamlet is rather similar to Oedipus the King. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus murders his own father and marries his mother, taking the throne of Thebes. In Hamlet, Claudius murders his own brother and marries his brother’s wife, taking the throne of Denmark. This similar plot twist shows the relevance of the theme of relationships between a parent and a child. In terms of these relations, these plays share a similarity in which the relationships between the protagonist and their parents lacked strong core values such as friendship, loyalty, and honesty. In Oedipus the King, rather, before this story began, Oedipus was never given a chance to foster a proper relationship with his real parents. With all the dishonesty throughout the play, Oedipus was blind from the truth which in turn affected the future of Thebes and his own offspring. In Hamlet, Hamlet and his mother and stepfather had a tumultuous relationship with each other. Not only did his parents affect his perspective on life in the way he thought about others and how he treated women, but he contemplated life and whether or not he should commit suicide. This also affected the course of the play in how things turned out in the end. None of the main characters survived in the end. It is clear that good, strong family relationships are important to establish in order to have a happy, fulfilling life. It can change the way people behave as well as affect the wellbeing of others.