In "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, Sophocles creates an underlying question in the play. Is the prophecy true? Did Oedipus really kill his dad and sleep with his mom? To answer this question Sophocles uses the metaphor of blindness, both literally and metaphorically. This is also used in "The Wild Duck" by Ibsen. But the question in Ibsen's play is what is the big secret that Gina is hiding and who is Hedvig's real dad? Both of the authors use characterization to answer these questions.
In "Oedipus the King", the prophet is the character that helps open Oedipus' eyes. In "The Wild Duck", Gregers is the character that opens the eyes of the family. Both stories have families that are built on lies causes by the father figure (who often loves power, and is blind to the lies in the family). Both Sophocles and Ibsen answer these questions with characters that expose the truth to the fathers.
The connection between the two plays is the blindness of the fathers and the two characters that try to give them vision. In "Oedipus the King", the chorus says, "How can I say you've chosen for the best? Better to die than be alive and blind". This quote shows how the characters in both books seek the truth even if it brings them unhappiness. Like that saying goes, ignorance is bliss. That would have been the other option if it wasn't for the prophet and Gregers.
Nice point about the blindness. I'm not sure if it's the characters that expose the truth or if it's a character's will to know the truth. But the result is the same, the truth can bring unhappiness, so ignorance can be bliss sometimes.
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