Jupiter, Creon and Oedipus: The Idea of Fatherhood in the Context of Patriarchy Essay

IntroductionProbing into Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles and Metamorphoses by Ovid, this paper pass on discuss the portion of the get, their similarities, and how hearhood affects the actions of a character. Suffice it to say that an inquiry into the fathers office in the texts necessitates an understanding of the context deep d profess which the stories were produced. In this way, we ar given an goodly framework to understand the roots that influenced such(prenominal) characterizations.Written around the period saviour was believed to redeem been born, Oedipus the King and Metamorphoses form at its immediate context of production the season of male rule in Greece, we guard the polis or city-states and in Italy, we have the roman type Empire. Hence, the socio-political climate at the time Sophocles and Ovid wrote their oeuvres is no doubt male dominated.However, it can non be denied that the viewer of their works rests on the fact that they have managed to go against the controlling attitude of their time. similarly, through with(predicate) their very portrayal of patriarchy the texts be suitable to fore setting its instances. In this sense datum, the instruction of the fathers role in the stories reinstate the image of patriarchy heretofore at the same time, this can as well be read as an curtain raising to critique it. The mention of patriarchy hence enables a reading that is critical against and apprised of patriarchys operations.Law of the fatherIn Book I of Metamorphoses, whiz may clearly see how the dominant role of the father operates through the actions of Jupiter, who is able to pursue any woman he wants by virtue of his limit as a god. As a father and pouf of heaven, Jupiters role was visualised by Ovid non in a room that fits into the current view of what a good god and father should be. perverted to present day constructions of an immaculate god and responsible father, Jupiter is lustful, imp etuous, violent and a womanizer. Among his actions, which argon mostly disastrous, what immediately strike us as violent is Jupiters informal kinship with the women he dispositions Io, Callisto, Europa and Semele to name moreover a few.In Book I, Jupiter rapes Io which causes the by and by to bear a son, Epaphus. Interesting in this scene is Jupiters disturbance round Junos possible discovery of this rape. In a way, Jupiters concern signifies his devotion of his wife. that, this fear is not enough to go him from lusting for an different(prenominal) women.By turning Io into a bull, Jupiter articulates the male perspective towards woman that has been attacked by feminists especially during the advent of the 1960s. Clearly, Jupiter treats women as commodities that he can dispose after he has d unrivaled pleasuring himself with them. For Jupiter, it is immaterial whether he sires a child or not with antithetical woman. Jupiters idea of forefather depends not on the idea of having a family and nurturing a child but on his desire to sleep with any woman he wants.Jupiters idea of don depends on his sexual escapades that must remain extraterrestrial beingness to his wife Juno. Recall that after raping Io, Jupiter turns her into a bull so as to hide out her true identity from Juno. However, when things did not go as planned, Jupiter was more than willing to go an extra mile, that is, he can in time kill so as to mark off the threat of revelation. And so he commanded atomic number 80 to kill Argos so as to relieve Juno from finding out around Io.Also recall that after raping Callisto, a colleague of Diana, Jupiter transforms her into a bear and then(prenominal) into a constellation. In the process of this transformation, Callisto was not given agency to decide for herself. The case of Callisto and Io, among others, testifies to the flair by which Jupiter treats women. In Jupiters relationship with women, we clearly see the workings of patriar chy, a system that depends on the whim of the powerful god Jupiter. His actions as god argon equated with the Law itself. This immunity to punishment informs his actions to the pistillate characters whom he could rape and impregnate as he pleases. His role as a father does not rest then on his desire to have children per se. The numerous children Jupiter has are in fact consequences of his indigenous desire to sleep with different woman.The blind Father and the TyrantIn Oedipus the King, the role of Oedipus as a father and king has a certain similarity with that of Jupiter in time in the final analysis, the dickens are completely different. As king of Thebes, Oedipus enjoys a relatively opportune position and like Jupiter. However, the striking difference surrounded by them is the fact that Oedipus is a mortal composition Jupiter is god. Unlike Jupiter, Oedipus does not have the high life to do whatever he pleases since he is bound by his ominous fate. firearm Jupiter ha s the power to decide for himself, Oedipus on the other hand can barely determine his choices within the fate endowed to him. Oedipuss role as father to Ismene and Antigone differs in great degrees from Jupiters role as father. We see Oedipus love for his children in different cases in both Oedipus the king and Oedipus at Colonus . At the end of Oedipus the king, Oedipus asks his brother Creon to say care of his cardinal daughters, and this exemplifies his concern for them. blind and destroyed, Creon still thought of the welfare of his two daughters. In Oedipus at Colonus on the other hand, we see how Oedipus refuses to side with any of his sons who have become greedy for power. Among the characters in the Theban plays of Sophocles, we can say that the father guess who has greater similarity with Jupiter is Creon. Like Jupiter, Creon cares greatly for his possess self. This, as we know, has been the cause of his downfall. after Oedipus exile, Creon rules Thebes in a totalitari an manner no citizen or even family-member could defend any of his rules. Due to this, not only did Creon alienate the citizens but also his own family. Although Jupiter and Creon are similar in the sense that both rule based on their own whims, they differ in that Jupiter did not have to suffer any consequences for his actions. Creon is a tragic persona in antediluvian patriarch Greek drama who suffers grave repercussions for his hubris or excessive degree of pride. Hubris harbors the head game that ones actions could not entail a disastrous consequence or nemesis. In the case of Creon, the nemesis of his actions is the finish of his own son and wife. Creon had been more concerned about his role as a regulation than a father. This makes his sons death a very painful experience since it also entails the shattering of Creons illusion as an omnipotent being. As a father, he loved his son tremendously. Yet it was too late when he realized that his idea of fatherhood has all along been distorted. The price he had to pay for being more passionately attached to his position as king is the death of the two persons who were more valuable than his crown.ConclusionThe ideas of fatherhood in Metamorphosis and the Theban plays of Sophocles are constructed within the context of patriarchy. This makes the idea of fatherhood strongly related to the power of men. In the case of Creon and Jupiter, the idea of fatherhood is plan a different light since the two characters are more concerned with their role as rulers than as fathers to their own children.Oedipus, in opposition to Creon and Jupiter, is the one who was able to contribute an idea of fatherhood that entails a concern for his children. Although Oedipus, Creon and Jupiter share as common ground their powerful position within a patriarchal society, their ideas of fatherhood have different characteristics and tendencies.