In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex as in most Greek tragedies, the character represents not so much a matter of idiosyncratic personality as of exemplary traits, set forth in strong, clear lines in universal human situations drawn from the storehouse of mythic narratives. His figures are neither types nor individualized portraits but exemplary paradigms of great-souled humanity confronting harsh moral choices or irrational suffering. Sophoclean tragedy has nothing like the distinctive uniqueness of Hamlet or King Lear, rather it projects a vision of an idealist, though by no means a perfect heroic personality, and explores what happens when such a figure is tested in his or her moral values and heroic strengths.
In Oedipus Rex, just like Oedipus, Jocasta charms us by dint of her personality. ‘Euripides’, says Gilbert Murray, ‘might have brought her character out more explicitly and more at length, but even he could not have made her more living or more tragic, or represented more subtly in her relation to Oedipus both the mother’s protecting love and the mother’s authority’. In fact, Jocasta shares with Oedipus the common disaster coming through the vindication of the terrible prophecy about Oedipus; but while in Oedipus’s case, the fulfillment of the prophecy has only confirmed his apprehension, in Jocasta’s case, it has come as a sudden blow. She has been, at the same time, the helpless instrument in the punishment of Oedipus.
As we find her at the beginning of the play, Jocasta is sober and commanding. She pacifies Oedipus and Creon who have entered into a bitter controversy. Her advice that is unbecoming of the members of the Royal family to quarrel when the city has been bleeding, shows her prudence and sagacity. Throughout the interaction, she is honest in intention and speaks cautiously. She appears in the scene as somebody dignified, judicious, and steady. In her relation to Oedipus, there are traces of motherly command and a beloved’s anxiety. She shares Oedipus’s agony at the apprehension of the fulfillment of the prophecy and makes an offering at the altar of Apollo, praying for his help. Jocasta does not only confront Oedipus but also gives him some wise advice. Referring to Oedipus’s dear of defiling mother’s bed, she says that it is best to live life at random, as one may. What prompts her to make such utterances is, of course, her love and concern for Oedipus. With her experience and wisdom, Jocasta teaches Oedipus to take the path of disinterested action without speculation on what is to come.
An interesting aspect of Jocasta is, of course, her skepticism. Till the final revelation, Jocasta never sincerely believes in the oracles.
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