Role of Fate in Oedipus Rex and The Seagull   The inevitability of fate is a key theme in Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex' and in Chekhov's 'The Seagull'. I was fascinated by the ways this inevitability was conveyed by Chekhov and Sophocles respectively and the ways in which the actions of the characters contributed to and heightened their fate. I shall attempt to compare and contrast the way in which Oedipus and, to a lesser extent, Nina make their fates more unbearable by their own actions and choices. In each case the author uses characterisation to enhance and increase the sense of inevitability and hence the sense of tragedy in the respective plays.             Sophocles has created his Oedipus not as innately evil but as a likeable character. It is this that makes the conclusion of his play even more tragic.
