Truth Hurts

Choices. We make them every day, but too often are they heart over head and centered around our own wishes. Each choice has its own implications, but those made with blind optimism against reality can yield grave consequences like Oedipus’ self-harm and saddening truths like Nea’s realization of Sourdi’s decision.

As stated in Poetics, tragic figures are kings whose fate elicits “feelings of pity and fear in the audience.” Exploring the rationale behind the suffering, Aristotle wonders if we sympathize because we “suffer a similar hamartia,” fearing for our own lives. In a sense, that makes us tragic figures. Though we are not kings, Greek tragedies expose the potentialities of our blind self. Reading Oedipus not only provokes pity—as Oedipus realizes his life had been a lie—but it also compels the audience to question their own life. While we might not have a prophecy behind us, there are most certainly things we don’t know about ourselves, things hidden and varying in severity.

 

Although Oedipus as a Greek king provides an exaggerated view of humanity, he still portrays common mishaps of selfishness and hastiness. As a teenage girl, Nea exemplifies these flaws in general scenarios. While Nea is not royal, both Nea and Oedipus are ambitious dreamers that lead to their recognition of reality. They fight their internal conflict of avoiding reality, due to the truth contradicting their self-perceptions. As annotated below, the grief cycle is a great representation of their epiphanic journey. Though more commonly applied toward deaths and breakups, Oedipus and Nea “grieve” for their loss of original self, identity, and pride (Read: Perception is Not Reality).

With this cognitive dissonance between perception and reality, we may attempt to recreate ourselves into self-centered heroes that can change the situation of what’s already been settled. Oedipus is the epitome of people forcing heroism. Although the reality of him being the murderer was revealed early on with Tiresias, his hubris caused him to deny it. Ironically, he wants the truth, but he can’t take it in because it opposes his goals as a king. This arousing frustration from the mental discomfort provokes him to bitterly patronize Tiresias and search for evidence to reverse the claim, but he only finds ones that substantiate it (after all, it is the reality). By deciding to “see the truth at last”, he faces catharsis, accepting his fate: “What grief can crown this grief? It’s mine alone, my destiny—I am Oedipus!” (Sophocles 1170, 1495-1498). Unfortunately, his yearning for the truth was, once again, solely to satiate his narcissistic desires, as denouncing the murderer would dignify him again. Due to this recurring egotism, Oedipus was unable to witness the truth prematurely; thus, he incited his own downfall and grievances. 

When results don’t correlate with our original thoughts (in Oedipus’ case, the complete opposite), we often give up. Just as Oedipus realizes that he isn’t destined for power, Nea realizes she will not always have Sourdi by her side. They both, essentially, discover that they’re not that special. Nea grew up creating wild dreams with Sourdi, running away to different cities. She listened to Sourdi’s stories about the Naga protecting people in times of evil, aspiring to be one of them. She wanted true love, after witnessing Sourdi and Duke. But none of these came to fruition when Sourdi married for stability. What makes Nea complex is the fact that her life has many strings attached. Her innocence toward the prejudiced immigrant perceptions in America could easily jeopardize her family. Nevertheless, her desire to be heroic, like Oedipus, led her to audaciously drive out to Sourdi’s house, only to find that “Sourdi made her decision, and she hadn’t chose[n] [Nea]” (Chai, para. 228). This reflects how Oedipus kept searching for evidence, but instead realized his investigation was counterproductive and the blind seer was right. I suppose sometimes dreams too big are just like Sourdi’s unachievable legends. 

A great way to avoid adverse outcomes and implausible dreams is to understand the big picture. Taking a moment to step outside of our own bubble allows us to notice the what-ifs of those affected by our decisions. What if Sourdi actually loves her husband? What if Oedipus himself is actually the murderer he was looking to convict?

Ultimately, however, with all decisions come responsibility—especially those made impulsively. Oedipus takes action by exiling himself away from the people of Thebes, and Nea takes action by considering the future and those affected by her decisions, asking Sourdi to not tell Ma but simultaneously realizing that she “couldn’t trust her sister to take [her] side anymore” (Chai, para. 225). Echoing these epiphanies is Taylor Swift and Bon Iver’s new song “exile”, where the lyrics state “you’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now?”. The reality, whether it’s a breakup, relationship change, or identity reversal, is no longer the “homeland” of what the characters believed in, and there’s no point in further living under a facade or defending their unrealistic presumptions. While there are temporary coping mechanisms—like fantasy with strong verisimilitude—in the long run, no one can escape reality. 

 

The dark ambiance of the “exile” music video portrays the depressing mood as felt after grief. However, as seen by the subtle light, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, calling us to face reality and its positive aspects.

Truth be told, many of our decisions are products of psychological egoism (human motives stemming from self-interest). In hindsight, decisions made to fabricate reality only create unfavorable outcomes, as shown by Oedipus’ downfall and Nea’s return to reality. 

Nonetheless... these decisions are sometimes inevitable. When they are made, an admirable trait of humanity to recall is resilience. Start by accepting reality, overcoming obstacles with both confidence and positivity (preferably a reaction that is more Nea than Oedipus). For a pick-me-up, cue "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo, complemented with a dance party and waffles as comfort food. 🤎