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That she believes her son dead, the she is distracted by her grief over her first husband's death and that everything about Oedipus screams Corinthian are the reasons why Jocasta does not realize that Oedipus is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta believes her son to be dead because she gives the three-day-old infant Oedipus to her most trusted servant to kill. Either she never checks up or she does and the servant lies, because Oedipus survives and is fostered into the Corinthian royal house. Jocasta does not seem to either notice or process the similarities between her first husband, King Laius, and her second husband, Oedipus. It may be that in her grief she is comforted, instead of analytical about and threatened, by the likeness. It also may be that Oedipus being so much the product of a Corinthian raising causes her to see or never think or searching for anything Theban within him or his looks.

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Q: Why does Jocasta not recognize Oedipus as her son in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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Who are the main characters in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Oedipus, Jocasta, Teiresias, and Creon are the main characters in 'Oedipus Rex'. Theban King Oedipus is the husband and son of Theban Queen Jocasta. Subsequent Theban King Creon is Jocasta's brother, and the brother-in-law and uncle of Oedipus. Teiresias is a blind prophet.


Who is conversing when Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is her son in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is the Corinthian messenger who is conversing when Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Corinthian messenger announces the death of Corinthian King Polybus, Theban King Oedipus' presumed father. During the ensuing conversation, he indicates that Oedipus is Polybus' adopted or foster son. It is when the messenger says that he received the infant Oedipus from one of Theban King Laius' servants that Jocasta recognizes Oedipus as her son.


Does Oedipus' mother know who he is in 'Oedipus Rex'?

No, Oedipus' mother does not know at first who he is in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta is Oedipus' mother. She does not recognize Oedipus even though he has the same injured feet that her son would have and even though he is a younger version of her dead first husband Laius. Jocasta cannot see what is staring her in the face until almost 20 years after she marries her own son and has four children with him.


Is Creon Oedipus' son in 'Oedipus Rex'?

No, Creon is not Oedipus' son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Creon is Oedipus' uncle, brother-in-law, royal colleague and ultimately royal successor. Shortly after Oedipus' arrival in Thebes, he marries widowed Theban Queen Jocasta, Creon's sister. But Oedipus does not know that he actually is Jocasta's son and therefore Creon's nephew. Creon becomes Oedipus' royal successor once Jocasta's and Oedipus' incest and Oedipus' murder of his own father become known.


What does Jocasta say to Oedipus when she knows that he is her son in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That she hopes he never knows his identity is what Jocasta says to Oedipus when she knows that he is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta makes connections when she hears the testimony of the Corinthian messenger. She seeks to stop her second husband, King Oedipus, in his attempts to find the truth of his birth. She wishes that he never know who he is when she cannot get him to stop.

Related questions

Who are the main characters in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Oedipus, Jocasta, Teiresias, and Creon are the main characters in 'Oedipus Rex'. Theban King Oedipus is the husband and son of Theban Queen Jocasta. Subsequent Theban King Creon is Jocasta's brother, and the brother-in-law and uncle of Oedipus. Teiresias is a blind prophet.


Who is conversing when Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is her son in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is the Corinthian messenger who is conversing when Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Corinthian messenger announces the death of Corinthian King Polybus, Theban King Oedipus' presumed father. During the ensuing conversation, he indicates that Oedipus is Polybus' adopted or foster son. It is when the messenger says that he received the infant Oedipus from one of Theban King Laius' servants that Jocasta recognizes Oedipus as her son.


Does Oedipus' mother know who he is in 'Oedipus Rex'?

No, Oedipus' mother does not know at first who he is in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta is Oedipus' mother. She does not recognize Oedipus even though he has the same injured feet that her son would have and even though he is a younger version of her dead first husband Laius. Jocasta cannot see what is staring her in the face until almost 20 years after she marries her own son and has four children with him.


Is Creon Oedipus' son in 'Oedipus Rex'?

No, Creon is not Oedipus' son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Creon is Oedipus' uncle, brother-in-law, royal colleague and ultimately royal successor. Shortly after Oedipus' arrival in Thebes, he marries widowed Theban Queen Jocasta, Creon's sister. But Oedipus does not know that he actually is Jocasta's son and therefore Creon's nephew. Creon becomes Oedipus' royal successor once Jocasta's and Oedipus' incest and Oedipus' murder of his own father become known.


What does Jocasta say to Oedipus when she knows that he is her son in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That she hopes he never knows his identity is what Jocasta says to Oedipus when she knows that he is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta makes connections when she hears the testimony of the Corinthian messenger. She seeks to stop her second husband, King Oedipus, in his attempts to find the truth of his birth. She wishes that he never know who he is when she cannot get him to stop.


Who is Jocasta's daughter in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Antigone and Ismene are Jocasta's daughters in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princesses Antigone and Ismene are Queen Jocasta's daughters with her second husband, King Oedipus. Unbeknownst to them at the time of their marriage, Oedipus and Jocasta also are son and mother. Consequently, the princesses' father also is their half-brother and that their mother also is their maternal grandmother.


What violent actions of Jocasta and Oedipus occur offstage in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Suicide and blinding are the violent actions committed offstage respectively by Jocasta and Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Queen Jocasta and King Oedipus of Thebes are upset about finding out that they are not only wife and husband and but also mother and son. Jocasta locks herself in the bedroom and hangs herself with the threads from her own robes. Oedipus blinds himself with two golden brooches from Jocasta's robes.


Does Jocasta know that Oedipus is her son before she marries him in 'Oedipus Rex'?

No, Jocasta has no idea before her marriage that Oedipus is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta describes her first husband as an older version of her second husband, Theban King Oedipus. She does not consider the two to be father and son since her only child by Laius is supposedly killed in order not to grow up to a miserable fate. When she realizes that Oedipus is her husband's killer, her own son, and her children's half-brother, she kills herself.


Why is Oedipus planning to kill Jocasta in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That she is the mother who believes in infant killing and who marries her own son are reasons why Oedipus plans to kill Jocasta in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus learns that he is the biological son of his wife, Queen Jocasta. He realizes that he is alive because Jocasta's most trusted servant does against orders and does not kill the three-day-old infant Oedipus as he is ordered to do. He sees that Jocasta has the greater blame in the incest since she gives birth to him and should have recognized him as her only child from her first marriage.


Who is Jocasta's first husband in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Laius is Jocasta's first husband in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta is married two times. Her first husband is her cousin, King Laius. Not too long after Laius is killed, Jocasta marries her second husband, Oedipus, who unbeknownst to the two also is her cousin and her son.


Who is dehumanized in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta are dehumanized in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, dehumanization refers to making someone seem monstrous, not even human. The description fits Theban monarchs Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta. Queen Jocasta and her first husband, King Laius, do not seem human because they try to kill their own son, the three-day-old infant Oedipus. Jocasta and her second husband, King Oedipus, do not seem human because they commit mother-son incest.


How does Jocasta delay Oedipus' search for the truth in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is by not telling what she knows that Jocasta delays Oedipus' search for the truth in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.). Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta figures out that her second husband, King Oedipus, is her son. She knows that he therefore is the killer of her first husband, King Laius. She makes an effort to dissuade Oedipus from continuing the investigation that ultimately will find him guilty of murder and incest.