Why did Jocasta abandon the baby Oedipus?

An oracle had predicted that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, and as an infant he was abandoned by his birth parents, Laius and Jocasta, the rulers of Thebes, because of this curse. He was taken by a shepherd, and raised by the previously childless king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope.

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Why did Jocasta give away her baby?

Jocasta and Laius, her first husband, receive a prophecy that their son will grow up to kill Laius. In an effort to avoid this prophecy, they abandon their son to die on a mountain.

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Why did Jocasta hang herself?

Answer and Explanation: In Oedipus the King, Jocasta kills herself because she is ashamed for having become intimate with her son, Oedipus. Earlier in the play, she becomes aware of a prophecy that predicts she will marry her own child.

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What did Laius and Jocasta do to their baby?

When Oedipus was born to the king and queen of Thebes, Laius and Jocasta, a prophet announced that the baby would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother.To avoid such a shocking outcome, King Laius sorrowfully ordered one of his servants to kill the baby.

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Why does Oedipus think Jocasta doesn t want him to find out about his parents?

Why does Oedipus think Jocasta doesn't want to find out about Oedipus' parents? She is afraid they'll be of low birth.

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The Story of Oedipus: the King of Thebes (Complete) Greek Mythology - See U in History

31 related questions found

Why doesn t Jocasta want Oedipus to find out the truth?

Jocasta doesn't want Oedipus to learn he killed Laius so that he won't be exiled or executed. Jocasta realizes she is married to her own son. Jocasta is afraid that the truth about her involvement in Laius' death will be revealed.

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What does Jocasta think happened to her son?

Jocasta doesn't know that the prophecy Laius received came true—she believes her son to be dead and her husband to have been murdered by a band of thieves. This seemingly disproves the prophecy that said Laius would die by his son's hand.

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Did Jocasta know she was Oedipus mother?

Surprise overwhelmed Oedipus, for the messenger told him that she was not his mother. He explained that he was given the baby many years ago by a Theban shepherd. Jocasta then realized that Oedipus was her son.

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What did Jocasta do when she found out Oedipus was her son?

At what point of the story does Jocasta realize that Oedipus is her son who killed his father Laius? Ans. When Jocasta observes that Oedipus is too much troubled by the accusation of Teiresias as that he was leiller ofhis own father, she tries to alleviate his worries by saying that prophets are often wrong.

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Did Jocasta know Oedipus was her son?

Jocasta realizes the truth—that Oedipus is her son as well as her husband—and tells Oedipus to stop the interrogations. He doesn't listen, and an eyewitness, the Herdsman who rescued him when he was an infant, confirms that he was Laius and Jocasta's child, and that Oedipus killed Laius.

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How old was Jocasta when she died?

Jocasta Innes, who has died aged 78, made a long career out of a talent for making do, making over, and making a home in adversity.

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How does Oedipus react to Jocasta's death?

Jocasta is dead, by suicide. She locked herself in her bedroom, crying for Laius and weeping for her monstrous fate. Oedipus came to the door in a fury, asking for a sword and cursing Jocasta. He finally hurled himself at the bedroom door and burst through it, where he saw Jocasta hanging from a noose.

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Why did Jocasta go blind?

Let's learn about the disease that robbed Jocasta Cameron of her eyesight: Glaucoma. Yep, that's the one. Glaucoma (glaw-koh-muh), is a word derived from the Greek glaukommatos meaning “gray-eyed.”

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What is Jocasta syndrome?

It is when a mother has an abnormally close or incestuous attachment to her son. It is named after Jocasta the mother and wife of Oedipus in Greek mythology. JOCASTA COMPLEX: "Jocasta Complex is the incestuous attachment or abnormally close attachment of a mother to her son."

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What eventually happens to Jocasta at the end of the play?

At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.

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What errors does Jocasta make?

She tells Oedipus that prophecies do not come true, and she uses the fact that an oracle incorrectly prophesied that Laius would be killed by his own son as evidence. Jocasta's mistake is similar to Oedipus's in the previous section: she confuses conclusions and evidence.

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What happens to Jocasta after realizing Oedipus true identity?

Jocasta, finally realizing Oedipus' true identity, entreats him to abandon his search for Laius' murderer. Oedipus misunderstands the motivation of her pleas, thinking that she was ashamed of him because he might have been the son of a slave. She then goes into the palace where she hangs herself.

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Did Jocasta love her son?

Jocasta Was a Faithful Lover

Jocasta loved her son to the core and did everything to protect him including taking his side against Creon.

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What is it called when a son is attracted to his mother?

How Does the Oedipus Complex Work? In psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex refers to the child's desire for sexual involvement with the opposite sex parent, particularly a boy's attention to his mother.

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Was Oedipus in love with his mother?

Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud chose the term Oedipus complex to designate a son's feeling of love toward his mother and of jealousy and hate toward his father, although those were not emotions that motivated Oedipus's actions or determined his character in any ancient version of the story.

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What did Jocasta realize?

Jocasta now realizes that Oedipus is the baby she and Laius abandoned, and that the prophecy has come true. She begs Oedipus to stop his inquiry, but he refuses, and she runs into the palace screaming.

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What is Jocasta's famous line?

You're doomed—may you never fathom who you are! This is Jocasta's penultimate line in Oedipus the King, spoken just before she exits the stage. Jocasta's words reveal that she has put the pieces together and understands what actually happened in the past.

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How does Oedipus find out Jocasta is his mother?

Oedipus questions the old shepherd who found him. With lots of threatening, he gets some information. Finally, Oedipus pieces things together and realizes that Jocasta is his mother. As predicted by the prophecy, he has slept with his mother and killed his father.

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How did Jocasta realize the truth?

Jocasta realized the truth because she was an active participant. When the messenger reveals that Oedipus was not the son of Polybus and Merope, and that he himself had taken the baby from the shepherd, who found him in the mountains, with his ankles pierced...... Jocasta knows without doubt that Oedipus is her son.

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What does Jocasta do once she realizes the truth behind her relationship with Oedipus?

When Jocasta realizes before Oedipus the reality of his identity, she begs him to stop his questioning to avoid grief. Later, her own panicked grief impels her to suicide.

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