Is there an old cliché? which emphasizes that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Eyes convey meaning and emotion. They reflect happiness, love, fear and pain. They keep secrets, reveal lies, and leak emotions. They allow us to see the world around us. Eye contact is the most important component in human interaction because it establishes a connection. This is why eyes are used so frequently as symbols and motifs in literature. Dating back to 429 BC with Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex, eyes and the concept of sight have proven to be important themes in many novels and plays both past and present. One such novel is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which relies on eye imagery to demonstrate the character's humanity and blindness to consequences. In both texts, symbolic images of the eye are essential to their development through both the figurative and literal, intentional and accidental blindness of the characters within and the consequences faced because of this. Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex serves as a foundational text for the use of diverse themes in many works, most notably Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus which mirrors the use of eyes and eye imagery to better illustrate humanity and actions of the characters. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The use of this eye motif is clearly seen throughout the Oedipus Rex. The two most notable uses are that of Tiresias, the blind prophet, and of Oedipus himself at the end of the play, when he gouges out his own eyes after learning the truth about his situation. At the beginning of the play, when we first learn of the plague on the city of Thebes, amidst the groans of the suffering citizens, Oedipus seeks the help of Tiresias who "sees with the eyes of the Lord Apollo" (Sophocles l. 324) . . The irony of this is that Tiresias is blind, yet he sees the truth more clearly than anyone else, especially the proud Oedipus who denies his involvement in all the chaos. Tiresias knows that Oedipus killed his father and married his mother, but refuses to tell him because of the pain it would cause. After Oedipus continually insults Tiresias, Tiresias finally tells him, "You with your precious eyes, are blind to the corruption of your life" (ll. 470-471). Here Sophocles uses the motif of vision and blindness ironically to demonstrate that precisely because one physically loses sight, figuratively no one recognizes the clearer truth than Tiresias. Likewise, at the end of the play, when Oedipus discovers what he had done, he gouges out his eyes and finally sees the truth. Additionally, the eye motif functions as a symbol of human connection as Oedipus exclaims, “How could I look into [my children's] eyes? No, never with these eyes of mine" (ll. 1506-1507). His guilt-ridden profession demonstrated his repentance for his sin, namely his attempt to avoid prophecy and being oblivious (blind) to his circumstances. Furthermore, by giving up his sight, he sacrificed what he thought was most important: seeing his children. The eyes and the concept of blindness are prominent in Oedipus Rex and serve to highlight the irony of Oedipus' situation and his sacrifice at the end of the play. As in Oedipus Rex, Mary Shelley employs the use of eye-related motifs and imagery in her novel Frankenstein. to show humanity and judgment. From the moment the monster opens his eyes, images and ocular symbolism cover the pages of this novel. Victor Frankenstein was like an artist, creating his monster with the best parts he could acquire, spending countless days perfecting every last piece of what wasdestined to become his greatest work of art. After completing his masterpiece, however, Victor clarifies, “I saw the wretch, the wretched wretch whom I had created…his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed upon me” (Shelley 35). Victor, in his greed for notoriety, unintentionally creates a soulless being, evident the moment the creature opens its watery eyes. Shelley uses the idea that eyes are connected to humanity throughout the novel, and this is one of the best examples. The creature was made up of dead pieces sewn together in an attempt to cheat the natural order of life and death. For this, Victor suffers immensely when he quickly learns that what he created was not human, but a beast devoid of a soul and many human characteristics, as evident in his eyes. Using the eyes, Shelley also weaves the theme of judgment into his work, primarily through the old man the monster has lived alongside for years. The creature faces only abuse and fear from the few people he encounters in the novel, and observes, "a fatal prejudice clouds their eyes, and where they should see a sensitive and kind friend, they see only a detestable monster" (95). In the old man, however, the creature sees the opportunity to make a friend, a human bond, and cure his loneliness because the old man is blind and therefore cannot see his ghostly appearance. Once the creature finds the courage to approach the old man, at first all is well and the old man is pleasantly kind to him, saying: "I am blind and cannot judge by your appearance, but there is something in your words that convinces me that you are sincere” (96). This small act of trust shows that, despite being blind, the old man can see the humanity and true character of the creature more clearly than anyone with eyes the unjust judgment of the monster by all the villagers and even his creator, his father, Victor, which led him to unbearable loneliness by making him angry Frankenstein is full of images of eyes that symbolize humanity and theme of blindness to emphasize Shelley's theme of judgment and the creature's motivation to commit his horrible sins In the aspect of eye motifs, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Sophocles' Oedipus Rex are both very similar. In both texts there is a central character who is blind but sees more clearly than anyone else. In Oedipus Rex this character is Tiresias who has known all along that Oedipus was the catalyst for all the suffering of Thebes, and in Frankenstein the old man is the only one who gives the creature a chance and treats him with kindness This is a play on Tiresias because in both cases the blind are not influenced by others and are wiser than the rest of the characters. According to Aristotle's essay “On Tragic Character,” a tragic character “does not fall into misfortune through vice or depravity, but falls through some error” (Aristotle). Oedipus serves as the ultimate tragic character because he falls from grace due to his avoidance of the inevitable prophecy, not some horrible sin he intentionally committed. Likewise, Victor Frankenstein fits this tragic character image because his downfall is due to his mistake of trying to cheat death, instead creating a monster that caused him so much suffering. In both cases, the main character, the tragic character, is blind to his own mistakes until he is forced to see them once he has faced the consequences and atoned for his sins. Both are so narrow-minded in their ways that they are unaware of the havoc they cause in the world around them. Oedipus serves as the basis for this tragic character that Victor Frankenstein resembles. In the end,, 2009. 1092-1093.