When Oidipous informs his wife that he could not be persuaded not to pursue his investigation to the point where he gets all the answers, his words resonate with a complementary meaning; he must discover his identity regardless of his own convictions because it is the god’s will that he do so. [Gd] [Ap] That his predilections are in full accord with the god’s endeavor allows him to think that he is in charge and that his will determines what is to happen. [Mpea] This in turn allows Oidipous to be intrepid, affirmative, and assertive even at the cost of making discoveries about himself that may carry unpleasant consequences. Indeed, he is willing to countenance birth to slaves and responsibility for killing Thebes’ king. What makes this acceptable to him is that he is in control of the discovery. If he can accept bad news, it is because discovery of the truth grants precedence to his own implacable resolve. That is what matters most to him, that is his highest value, that is what he is willing to fight and suffer for, and it is therefore precisely that which the gods must strike down, for it destroys the basis for communication and cooperation between gods and mortals. [Md] [Dnc]