“There’s none so blind as those who will not listen.”
STUBBORNNESS CREATES BLINDNESS
by Gabrielle Hunter
One of the most piercing traits that has withstood the ages, is no other than stubbornness. Stubbornness is the root to all inactivity and lack of growth in our relationships. It is often the barrier between what is old and new, and sometimes it smothers clarity between what is bad and what is good. The famous playwright, Sophocles, keys in on the various types of stubborn behaviors that we are frequently blinded by throughout our everyday lives. He integrates them into his plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone. A small fraction our community is physically blind. We can point them out without hesitation, but can we do the same for those that are mentally and spiritually blind? It seems though, that that does not come so easily for the average bystander. Stubbornness is often a problem for peers in a constructive society that lack wisdom and similarly in the household between parent and child.
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A First Look Through Literature: Stubbornness ↠ In the first and third plays of Oedipus the King, Oedipus Rex and Antigone, Sophocles presents an unmistakable theme of blindness. The first play, Oedipus Rex, exhibits the stubborn behavior that can coexist between peers. At this point in the story line, his wife Jocasta repeats to him several times the severity of dropping the investigation. Despite her wishes, he continues on in search of the truth. His plan wasn’t going to be interrupted by anyone’s opinions. He persists, “Listen to me, I beg you: do not do this thing! / I will not listen; the truth must be made known” (57). In our first world society, there is small portion of people that can still say they openly and genuinely worship their religions. Our fast paced society has moved us away from religions like Christianity, but several of us can still relate to many of its messages. The Serenity Prayer, a Christian prayer, is a mantra that speaks to the helpless, the sinners, and mentally weak; the passage asks for repentance and wisdom. We can all relate to this because as humans we are not invincible nor do we control the greater destiny around us. It is important to understand this, so that we do not go mentally derailed attempting to solve the unsolvable or to reach the untainable. As we learn that we may not change everything in our lives, we can consequently make life simpler.
A Second Look Through Literature: Stubbornness ↠ In the third play of Oedipus the King, Antigone, we are quickly exposed to stubbornness, except this time not in the case of blindness but more so in the case of familial relationships. King Creon has exempt anyone from giving a proper burial to the disloyal Polyneices and has bound anyone who attempts to be stoned to death. He vocalizes this throughout the kingdom repeatedly with each word holding more power than the last. Antigone, despite his requests, proceeds on to give her brother the burial that he deserves. She expresses, “Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way” (191). There is no accurate recording to when the first parent-child feud occurred, but it’s certainly a perpetual circumstance for many families still day. There has been and will always be a stubborn child and or a stubborn parent that is set in their ways. We won’t always be granted the privilege of compromise, so it is important to understand from scenarios such as these to keep an open mind. Having an open mind can save us from much conflict, especially in our 21st century American society; these days, people are quickly resorting to violence as their immediate form of rebuttal. In this play, the stubborn Antigone goes against her stubborn uncle’s wishes in order to fulfill her spiritual duties to her brother. Although being stubborn can usually be thought of in a negative way, being stubborn can be positive when it means that you are holding your ground on what you believe in. Traditional and cultural values are far more important than showing others the ability to compromise. It shows structure and self-respect.
The essence of this quality, stubbornness, can be both destructive and structural. We face blindness in society by fearing the truth and shying away from warnings. It creates blockages for collaboration. Although rightly deserved, most times stubbornness is referred to with a negative connotation, but that is not always justly so. A person that is right and confident in their ways is less likely to be easily persuaded by every seller on the venue, and is able to stay true to his core values. It is up to us how we decide to use stubbornness: to shield ourselves from others’ opinions or to develop identity by staying enriched in our traditional beliefs.
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