At the beginning of the play Oedipus Rex, the protagonist Oedipus is rational, mature, admired and independent of others. "Oedipus, famous among all men," he himself quotes. He has the power to curse the unknown criminal and therefore he is nearly divine. He is sure of his strength and foresight, seen through oracles. He is the self-assured king in search of the murderer of Laius, and after that in a quest of his own identity. His physical blinding goes along with the awakening of his spiritual vision into reality.
After consulting an oracle, for fear that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus' biological parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta, sent their son away to be killed. After the estranged shepherd did not fulfill his duty, he proceeded to tell King Laius and wife that he had murdered the young child, when he had only pierced his feet. A wandering shepherd then brings the young boy to a family in want of a child. King Polybus and Queen Merope welcomed the unwanted being into their home. After they themselves consult an oracle, the family realizes Oedipus' ultimate fate and Oedipus sends himself away to deny his destiny. Oedipus, after solving the riddle of the Sphinx, is crowned King of Thebes because their former king had unexpectedly been slain. Oedipus was not only raised noble, but born into dignity as well. .
Oedipus' flaw in character that brings about his downfall is being naive. Oedipus can not be held fully accountable for his sufferings. He trusts too highly in the oracles, as with the rest of society in that time. He had faults of temper and pride and he made mistakes in judgment. By murdering a man he didn't know and wasn't truly threatened by and marrying a woman he knew nothing about also shows him as being nave and not making the correct decisions. Oedipus confesses that he slew a man at a crossroads in anger. He has angry clashes with Teiresias, a blind seer and Creon, his brother-in-law.
