It is this lead character's outrage that drives the plot, rather than any journey of self-discovery or some fateful intervention. This is seen when Antigone declares her defiance of the king: "I will bury him myself. / and if death comes, so be it. / There'll be glory in it. / ... The gods will be proud of me." Rather than placing the importance of the gods first, Antigone views her own actions as of primary importance.

There is also a heavy element of introspection in both plays; it is Oedipus' attempt to discover the past of his kingdom that reveals his own personal past, and it is this self-discovery that leads to the tragedy of the play. Oedipus himself reveals the personal nature of this tragedy when he says "nor needs to tell / How your whole state is sick, for howsoe'er / Ye sicken, sicker is this heart...
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