In Oedipus The King, compare and contrast male with female characters.

In Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex), the male characters dominate the play in terms of numbers. The men are the heroes and the villains in the sense that the conflict on stage and in recounted stories revolves around them. 

Oedipus, Creon and Tiresias are each male (although Tiresias was once turned into a woman and can be seen as somewhat androgynous perhaps) and these three characters do most of the speaking in the play.

Some of the biggest differences in characters are not best seen by contrasting male and female characters, but instead by comparing attitudes held among both genders in regards to logic and insistence. However, in making the gender comparison, we can see that men are presented as being rash and quick to anger and fits of pride. The queen, Iocaste, is level-headed and largely keeps her own counsel (whereas Oedipus feels the need to find support for his views from others).

When Oedipus begins to doubt Creon and threatens to have Creon killed, Iocaste arrives on the scene. The chorus wonders if “this dreadful quarrel can be resolved through her,” suggesting that this female character might have powers of reason and influence enough to mediate between the male king in his brother-in-law.

She chastises both men:

“Poor foolish men, what wicked din is this?

With Thebes sick to death, is it not shameful

That you should rake some private quarrel up?”

In admonishing the men, Iocaste is also offering a direct characterization of their foolishly violent attitudes. 

Iocaste is respected by the men for her position and for her intellect. Oedipus tells her that “none of these men deserved [his] confidence as you do.” Yet, in the end, she kills herself after unsuccessfully pleading with Oedipus to give up on his inquiry into his own past and then finds out the truth about her husband.

The female character is a figure of caring, making repeated attempts to advise Oedipus in ways that will assure his comfort and peace of mind. The male characters hear Iocaste, but, as in the case of Oedipus, these male characters do not always listen.

The male characters are head-strong and stubborn, standing on points of pride. This is true for Oedipus to a greater extreme than it is for Creon and Tiresias, but we can still see both minor characters acting on stubborn pride as well.