This final scene emphasizes that the play constitutes a drama of transformation of Oedipus from a blind beggar—cast out and reviled as society’s ultimate sinner—to a heroic figure, sanctified and at one with the gods. The final mystical scene demonstrates the heroic stature and dignity that one can achieve despite—or perhaps because of—human suffering in an incomprehensible world.
The rituals surrounding the death of Oedipus and Theseus’ witnessing of his mysterious passing again recall the Eleusian Mysteries that offered initiates powerful assurances of life after death. As his gift to Athens, Oedipus chooses Theseus alone to witness his death, which allows the king to gain the wisdom of eternal life.
Note that Antigone and Ismene will return to Thebes. In returning home, the two sisters head directly, as if driven by fate, for the events that will unfold as the final tragedy of the Oedipus Trilogy, Antigone.
