Oedipus Rex

Theory Paper

Oedipus did not know of his adoption and so had no reason to suspect anyone else other than his adopted parents to be his mother or father. Jocasta, his own mother, was even ignorant to the fact that Oedipus was her son. I am more inclined to suspect Jocasta of suspecting Oedipus of being her son than of Oedipus suspecting her of anything. How could a mother not know her own child? Some may argue that she had not seen him since he was an infant, but she herself said that Oedipus resembled Laius and she knew of the child she had thrown away. I believe that Jocasta practiced denial to some extent based on the fact that she had much more knowledge of the facts that surrounded these scandals and that Oedipus was an innocent victim of circumstance.

While mentioning Jocasta, I should also mention her brother, Creon. He grew to be Oedipus' brother-in-law but was in actuality his uncle. Surely he must have noticed the striking resemblance between his sister's former and present husbands. Did they never comment under their breaths about the fact that the two were so alike in features and mannerisms. These two were the closest to both kings, and so I wonder why neither Creon nor Jocasta suspected nothing about Laius or Oedipus. There was an immediate ironic foreboding when Oedipus shouts out that he is defending in the name of his father. Did his passionate remark send a bothersome or perhaps suspicious shiver though Jocasta or Creon? I have to wonder.