I love this question! It really helps you to think
creatively about the various characters in the play and their function. I would pick
Teiresias and the object I would pick would be a mirror. Let me explain: in the play, as
a prophet, he is called upon to explain to Oedipus the reason for the plague that is
causing so much trouble in Thebes and to point a finger at who is responsible. In
response to his reluctance to reveal his information, Oedipus goads him, insults him and
accuses him of betraying him. Yet, in a highly significant dialogue, Teiresias again and
again confronts Oedipus with the truth in Scene 1, and yet Oedipus is blind to it or
does not want to accept the truth of Teiresias's words. Consider the following words
from Teiresias:
I say you live in hideous shame with
those
Most dear to you. You cannot see the
evil.
You are the madman. There is no one
here
Who will not curse you soon, as you curse
me.
But I say that you, with both your eyes, are
blind:
You cannot see the wretchedness of your
life,
Nor in whose house you live, no, nor with
whom.
Note how in each of
these exchanges Teiresias takes what is thrown at him by a desperate Oedipus and turns
it back on to him, confronting him with the unyielding truth just as a mirror confronts
us with our own reflection which cannot be ignored or denied. The tragedy of this play
lies in the fact that Oedipus is only able to accept the reality of these "reflections"
at the end.
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