The Seven Basic Plots - Christopher Booker [381]
Again shaped by the Rule of Three, the rest of the play shows Oedipus having to go through three ordeals. The first begins with the unexpected arrival from Thebes of King Creon. He makes a long moving speech, declaring how profoundly sorry he is for all that has happened and how, for the sake both of Thebes and Oedipus himself, he must now implore Oedipus to return home with him. It all sounds persuasive, as if Creon is acting only from the highest motives. But the old man is not fooled for a minute. When Creon has finished, Oedipus immediately explodes at him: `Devil, there is no specious argument you cannot twist to your cunning purposes!' He can see how Creon has only been putting on an act, to trick him into returning to Thebes for Creon's own dark purposes. Sure enough, no sooner has Oedipus called his bluff than Creon reveals the darkness behind his `light' persona by ordering his followers to seize, first Ismene, then her sister and finally Oedipus himself, with the intention of dragging all three back to Thebes by force. In the nick of time, Theseus and his men intervene, Oedipus and his daughters are reunited and Creon is summarily ordered back from where he had come.
The second test immediately follows when Theseus announces that a mysterious young stranger has arrived, begging for a chance to speak to Oedipus. Oedipus at once guesses correctly it is Polynices, his estranged and exiled son, and at first refuses to speak to him. But when Antigone pleads that he should be heard, Polynices also makes a moving speech, expressing deepest sympathy for his father's plight, which he now understands because he is an exile himself. But, he continues, there can now be a happy ending to both their stories. He has summoned an army of allies, led by seven heroic warriors including himself, with which he plans to take Thebes and to restore Oedipus to his home and former glory. Again Oedipus is not fooled. `Listen scoundrel' he begins, reminding his son that it was he, Polynices, who took the lead in condemning his father to beggary and exile. If Polynices leads his army against Thebes, Oedipus grimly warns, this can only have one outcome: the two brothers will end up killing each other. He dismisses his son with a curse. Antigone explains more gently to her brother that, if he is wise and really has the interests of Thebes at heart, he should stand down his army and return quietly to his new home. Polynices is dumbstruck at seeing his devious plan fall apart. Once an army has been sent home, he explains, it cannot be gathered together again. Despite his father's prophecy, he must now continue his armed advance on Thebes. He must take leave of his sisters forever.
This leads straight into Oedipus's third, very different ordeal, which is heralded by increasingly loud peals of thunder from the heavens. `God is sending his voice across the sky to summon me to death' says Oedipus, asking for Theseus to be called urgently. When Theseus arrives, Oedipus takes him aside to explain privately that he has a very important secret to impart, which must not be passed on to anyone except Theseus's successors as rulers of Athens. He is about to die in a mysterious way. Only Theseus will see it, and the place and manner of his passing must never be disclosed. So long as this pact is kept, it will guarantee the safety of Athens forever, just as his removal to Thebes would have guaranteed the safety of that city. `Now' says Oedipus, `it is time to go: the hand of God directs me'. Calling his daughters to join them, he turns and `leads the way with slow but sure steps, as one inspired with inward vision'. We only hear at second hand what happens next, as the four of them descend into the sacred cleft in the ground. First Antigone and Ismene wash their father, and dress him in new clothes.