Is Teiresias a loyal adviser to Oedipus, or not?

Although Teiresias, in Scene One of Oedipus Rex, at times speaks to Oedipus with he has
good reasons for doing so, and in the end the blind prophet still does his best, in a difficult
situation, to be a loyal and helpful adviser to his ruler.

When Oedipus first questions Teiresias about the plague afflicting Thebes, Teiresias does
seem to shirk his duty as a subject and a prophet, as he more or less refuses to answer,
saying, “Let me go home. Bear your own fate, and I’ll / Bear mine. It is better so: trust what
I say” (17). Teiresias’ statement here is unhelpful in the extreme: Oedipus has asked
Teiresias to help him find the truth, and Teiresias basically refuses to help and asks to be
released from his duties. Teiresias’ evasiveness early in the scene definitely makes him seem
like a disloyal advisor.

However, Teiresias’ reluctance to speak is not a result of disloyalty; rather, it is a result of

his religious certainty that it does not matter whether he speaks or not. This real reason for
Teiresias’ evasiveness becomes clear when Oedipus accuses Teiresias of being arrogant
towards the city and its plight, and Teiresias responds, “What does it matter! / Whether I
speak or not, it is bound to come!” (18). Teiresias, as a prophet, has a firm belief in the
inability of humans to alter their destiny: he knows that fate will unmask Oedipus as
Thebes’ genuine problem, but he does not want to be the one to do the unmasking. It could
be argued that a loyal adviser will always supply his or her ruler with the truth when asked
for it, but the heinous nature of Oedipus’ crimes make Teiresias’ initial silence
understandable.

Moreover, when Oedipus presses on in his questioning of the prophet, Teiresias does finally
accept the burden of unmasking Oedipus as Thebes’ real affliction: “So? I charge you, then,
/ Abide by the proclamation you have made: / From this day forth / Never speak again to
these men or to me; / You yourself are the pollution of this country” (19). Oedipus has
claimed that he will find out the truth at any cost. Teiresias, his adviser, knows that the cost
will be Oedipus’ sense of identity and even sanity, as well as his own favor with the king;
and given this cost, most advisers would continue to conceal the truth. Teiresias, though, at
Oedipus’ own insistence, rises to the occasion and proves his ultimate loyalty Thebes and to
Oedipus, its truth-seeking king.