Oedipus Rex of an unbearable self for which one is not responsible. Edith Hall referred to "Oedipus the King" as "this definitive tragedy" and notes that "the magisterial subtlety of Sophocles' characterization thus lend credibility to the breathtaking coincidences," and notes the irony that "Oedipus can only fulfill his exceptional god-ordained destiny because Oedipus is a preeminently capable and intelligent human being." H. D. F. Kitto said about "Oedipus Rex" that "it is true to say that the perfection of its form implies a world order," although Kitto notes that whether or not that world order "is beneficent, Sophocles does not say."
Oedipus Rex "knows" that Peter will do this, but readers would in no way suggest that Peter was a puppet of fate being "forced" to deny Christ. Free will and predestination are by no means mutually exclusive, and such is the case with Oedipus. The oracle delivered to Oedipus what is often called a "self-fulfilling prophecy", in that the prophecy itself sets in motion events that conclude with its own fulfilment. This, however, is not to say that Oedipus is a victim of fate and has no free will. The oracle inspires a series of specific choices, freely made by Oedipus, which