Purple Hibiscus Setting: Fate’s Web in Oedipus and Adichie’s Tale

Oedipus Rex: The Gods’ Puppet and the Inevitability of Fate

In both Oedipus Rex, a play by Sophocles, and the novel Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Adichie, Oedipus, and Kambili have no control over their own fate whatsoever. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has no control over his destiny as it is all being planned and executed by the gods who toy with his fate. In Purple Hibiscus, Kambili also has no control over her fate as she is also imprisoned by a higher force, that force being her father Eugene, who has power over everything she does and, therefore, her future.

Both of these characters have no control over their futures, which is illustrated throughout each story as they are controlled by a higher force that will decide the character’s fate.

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the character Oedipus can be seen demonstrating his lack of control over his destiny. Oedipus cannot fight back, for the prophecy has already been told and is to come true due to the gods who control Oedipus’s fate and, therefore, his life; Oedipus’s mind is filled with chaos as he progresses. Everything that Oedipus does was preplanned by the gods and therefore making them the ones in control. Oedipus unsuccessfully tries to change his fate. A prophet has confirmed that his destiny is to marry his mother and kill his father. He does everything he can to change that fate, but because of his parents’ actions when he was a baby, his knowledge of the people who raised him as parents is untrue. He had no say in his fate and was unable to change anything. As soon as Oedipus was born, his fate was laid by the gods, ‘To the children with whom he lives now he will be brother and father – the very same; to her who bore him, son and husband – the very same who came to his father’s bed, wet with his father’s blood’ (25). This proves that ever since he was born, he had no control because the prophecy told him exactly what would happen to Oedipus, and the gods had already planned his life rather than it going along spontaneously. Throughout this story, Oedipus tries to rebel against the gods and fight for his freedom but only provokes the prophecy, which comes true anyway. In this play, fate is responsible for the tragedy because all the actions performed by Oedipus were preplanned by the gods, and he was helpless against his fate.

Setting in Purple Hibiscus: Kambili’s Struggle Against Overbearing Control

In the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie, the protagonist Kambili has no freedom in her life and has no control over her own destiny. Every aspect of her life is controlled by her father, who chastises her harshly, and the farther she goes, the more aggressive he becomes. Kambili’s father sees her as a recalcitrant, which causes him to be more turbulent. Her lack of independence and freedom can be demonstrated in the scene where Kambili is getting her hair plaited, and she notices the bag of large imprisoned snails. It can also be seen when her Aunt suggests that she wear a skirt. The first incidence when Kambili shows her lack of freedom and control over her life is when her Aunty suggests that she should wear a skirt. She thinks to herself, ‘I wondered why I did not tell her that all my skirts stopped well past my knee, that I did not own any trousers because it was sinful for a woman to wear trousers’ (80), demonstrating how her father has taken over her life. This proves how she has no control over her destiny, as every aspect of her life is planned out by her father. Her father’s religion is preventing her from dressing freely, and while having the best of intentions, he is going about it the wrong way. This scene demonstrates how little control Kambili has and how her father even controls what she wears. The second example symbolizes Kambili and her lack of independence when she goes to get her hair plaited and finds a basket of snails.’ She picked up an enterprising snail that was crawling out of the open basket. She threw it back and muttered, ‘God take power from the devil.’ I wondered if it was the same snail crawling out, being thrown back in, and then crawling out again. Determined. I wanted to buy the whole basket and set that one snail free.’ (238) This demonstrates how she feels in her family, trapped by her father’s rule and with nowhere to go, as every time she tries to escape her father’s clutches, she is put back into place almost instantly. Kambili can relate to the snail, her being trapped by her father’s home versus when she goes to Nsukka, she is ‘crawling’ to freedom and giving her the sense that she needs to free that snail but can’t.

Final Reflections: The Predetermined Paths of Oedipus and Kambili

In conclusion, it has been proven that neither Oedipus nor Kambili has control over their fate due to a higher force, Oedipus’s being the gods and Kambili’s being her own father. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has no control over his destiny as it is all being preplanned by the gods. In Purple Hibiscus, Kambili also has no control over her fate as she is imprisoned mentally and metaphorically by a higher force, that being her father, Eugene. We can now conclude from this information that neither characters have control over their destiny and, therefore, over their life.

References

1. Sophocles. “Oedipus Rex.” This primary source is essential to understand the nature of Oedipus’s fate and how it ties into the overarching theme of destiny.

2. Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “Purple Hibiscus.” The primary source for examining Kambili’s personal struggles, family dynamics, and her predetermined life under the strict regime of her father.

3. Dodds, E.R. “On Misunderstanding the ‘Oedipus Rex’.” This article provides a perspective on the commonly misunderstood themes of fate and free will in the play.

4. Emenyonu, Ernest N. “Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Issues of Ideology in the Constitution of the Nigerian Novel.” This paper discusses the complex ideologies at play in the novel, including aspects of fate and control.

Did you like this example?

281

12