Guilt: Oedipus and the Virtuous Pagans

In our discussion of the virtuous pagans in limbo in class today, I was reminded again of the theme of the guilt of someone who does not realize what they are doing. I think it's interesting how this theme seems to appear repeatedly. Obviously, some of the pagans in limbo did everything they could to live a virtuous life but were unable to be Christians since Christianity did not even exist. To have them be punished eternally, if in a somewhat mild way compared to others, seems somewhat unfair. Especially as some of the old testament figures who have just been randomly chosen by God have been saved.

I think it's interesting that in all of the works we have read that consider this theme fall on the side of punishment being right: Tomas says the Communists can't plead ignorant to their crimes, Oedipus is right for punishing himself even as he did not know what he was doing, and the pagans are punished by God who must be just. In the latter two examples, though, there is some element of pity that we feel toward the punished, especially as their punishment seems disproportionate to their actions considering the context. In some ways, the virtuous pagans are the most unfairly punished as some of them literally could not have done anything to be saved. I think its interesting that in these works, justice seems to fall on the side of punishing those who did not realize, and even those who absolutely couldn't realize, what they were doing. Personally, I feel like this does not really represent true justice for those who could not know what they were doing. However, in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the one example of a historical example of this ethical dilemma, I feel more inclined to think that the Communists had some culpability and should have been able to realize what they were doing.