Saturday, September 15, 2012
Jocasta's Tragic Flaw
I think that deep down Jocasta knew that the prophecy would come true one day or another, whether or not they interfered when Oedipus was a baby. When she had first had Oedipus as a baby she knew his fate and what he was supposed to turn out to be and do, correct? So when her husband was "mysteriously killed" and some hot shot came walking into town that all of a sudden married her, would she not think that, "Hey, maybe this is my long-lost son who was supposed to kill my husband and then come back and marry me to become the Ruler of Thebes?"
I feel like Jocasta was sort of dull, and she knew that Oedipus was indeed her son and had indeed killed her husband and had come back to marry her because she was fervently trying to protect herself and Oedipus's discovery of the prophecies. I think that Jocasta had a hunch and probably thought that something was fishy with her husband's death and that the man she married was her son.
Jocasta's tragic flaw was that, at least I think, she had the power to stop this prophecy from playing out. She could have not married her son and continued the fate that was predicted to her earlier in her life. She could have been a hero and stopped the prophecy, but she didn't, and this, I believe, is Jocasta's tragic flaw.
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2 comments:
I agree that Jocasta' tragic flaw is indeed her "blindness" to the prophecy - but we also must take into account Jocasta's suicide which shows her obvious belief in Greek morals, which did not include incest. Perhaps Jocasta was actually blind to the prophecy due to shock, and chose to forget the prophecy, then when reminded committed suicide? This is just speculation, but I still think that Jocasta's tragic flaw is more complex than simply her marrying her son, which is more a tragic circumstance, in my opinion.
I agree it could be possible that deep down she knew the truth but consider this. She left her child by the hillside to die and later when her husband dies by hands of bands of thieves ( at least that is what she thought) she thinks that the prophecy had failed the moment she left child by the hillside.
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