Oediups - Effects of offstage Action

I believe that by allowing Jocasta’s suicide, and the subsequent blinding of Oedipus to take place out of the audience sight, adds a great impact to the play as a whole. Throughout the play, the audience is repeatedly exposed to the deep seated emotional states of both of these characters. We see each of them rise and fall, and go through the gamut of emotions as the deep secret is slowly revealed. The audience is lead down the corridor of each of their individual minds, and encouraged to partake in the emotional roller coaster ride. By the end of the play, when each of these characters suffer their demise, the audience, is left to use their imagination to picture the horrific events. These imaginations are based on the individual emotions that the audience has experienced throughout the play.

For Jocasta, we have felt the emotions of a woman who has kept a secret for a long time. We see her heartfelt desire to try and test the words of the Oracle, as she carries a deep passion to prove the prediction false. We also feel the emotions of a woman, who was told her son was dead, only to realize, no only was he alive, but also her husband, and father of her other children. A woman filled with the passion of having her first born still alive, and the deep affection she had for him not only as her son, but also as her lover. We are also drawn into the downward spiral of her emotional state, as all of her past comes to reality. So when we finally hear of her suicide, we are emotionally in tune to how deep in despair she has become. We feel her heartache and her heartbreak. Our own emotions are forced to realize just how deep she had sunk into a depression. And how, because of her love for her son/husband, she herself could no imagine living life without him.

As for Oedipus, we again are exposed to emotions, however they are slightly different then that of Jocasta. We initially are exposed to a man full of pride, a man who is committed to helping the citizens of his great country. We see a man determined to do the best by those who the gods have placed in his responsibility. As the story progresses and the secrets are slowly revealed, we find a man on a quest. He is committed himself to find the solution to the “riddle”, to figure out how he himself fits into the tragedies that have befallen his country. Once the secret is out in broad daylight, we again spiral down with Oedipus. We quickly are drawn into the emotional trauma as he begins realizing that fate has somehow picked him to suffer the ultimate of cruel games. And once he discovers that Jocasta is in fact his mother,