How Does Oedipus Change

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Oedipus the King by Sophocles, change is a recurring theme that directs the plot of the stories completely. In the Metamorphoses, the stories of Jove and Io and of Daphne and Apollo have changes that are related to those of Oedipus in Oedipus the King. The changes in these stories are not the choice of the character but happen because of fate or other outside forces. The common ground with these three examples of change is the fact they are all unexpected and they could not have easily been avoided.

In Metamorphoses, Cupid pierces Daphne with a dull arrow, which turns her life away from love. Apollo never stops loving her; he tries over and over again to gain her love. He chases her until she can no longer run. She then asks her father’s river to destroy her and change her into another body. She pleas, “Let me be a virgin always” (Ovid 1076). She then transforms into a tree. This change was her choice but if she did not change, Apollo could have abused her and she could have lost her sacred virginity. Apollo became obsessed with Daphne and changing was the only option that she had. This change is similar to that of Oedipus because

These changes are all unpredicted but they are all necessary, forced, or sudden. For Daphne, her changing into a tree is necessary because she is being threatened by Apollo’s love but she is not interested. Io has no choice when she is changed; Jove turns her into a cow and feels bad but does not truly understand the remorse that Io feels. Lastly, Oedipus is just as shocked as everyone else is to find out that he fulfills his prophecy and kills his own father. Not only is he disappointed, he is enraged with the fact that his royal life has come to an end because of a mistake that he barely remembers from long ago. These three texts all indicate changes that affect the life path of the