Wife of Oedipus. Also, mother of Oedipus. When the play begins, she no longer believes in the prophecies of seers. She tries to convince Oedipus not to worry about what Tiresias says. As more evidence points toward the probability that Oedipus has in fact fulfilled a terrible prophecy, she begs him not to dig any further into his past. He will not be persuaded. Realizing that her son killed her first husband, that she is now married to her son, and that Oedipus is about to bring all of this to light, Jocasta takes her own life.
Jocasta Quotes in Oedipus Rex
The Oedipus Rex quotes below are all either spoken by Jocasta or refer to Jocasta. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Lines 709-997
Quotes
Listen to me and learn some peace of mind:
no skill in the world,
nothing human can penetrate the future.
no skill in the world,
nothing human can penetrate the future.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Lines 998-1310
Quotes
Man of agony—
that is the only name I have for you,
that, no other—ever, ever, ever!
that is the only name I have for you,
that, no other—ever, ever, ever!
Get the entire Oedipus Rex LitChart as a printable PDF.
Jocasta Quotes in Oedipus Rex
The Oedipus Rex quotes below are all either spoken by Jocasta or refer to Jocasta. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Lines 709-997
Quotes
Listen to me and learn some peace of mind:
no skill in the world,
nothing human can penetrate the future.
no skill in the world,
nothing human can penetrate the future.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Lines 998-1310
Quotes
Man of agony—
that is the only name I have for you,
that, no other—ever, ever, ever!
that is the only name I have for you,
that, no other—ever, ever, ever!