How is Jocasta a tragic heroine?

Jocaste, oras it
is often spelled in different versions of , fits the definition of a tragic
heroine for many reasons.

For one, she is a person of high or noble birth.
She is the queen of Thebes and she shows virtue and intelligence in her dealings concerning her
kingdom. For example, whenandare arguing, she tells them to stop, knowing that their angry
outbursts will only create more chaos in a kingdom already plagued with confusion and
despair.

However, despite Jocasta's good qualities, she has a tragic flaw or
hamartia: her pride and arrogance. She mocks the knowledge of prophets such as , prophets who
have been ordained and gifted by the gods themselves. She also shows pride and arrogance because
she believes that a human can avert fate or the will of the gods. She shows this trait when she
gives her baby away to be killed, thinking that by doing so she can avert a horrible prophecy
that her son would grow up to kill her husband.

Finally Jocasta experiences a
tragic fall. She learns that her son who was supposed to be killed is still alive and that he
did indeed murder her husband. She also learns that she has in fact married and had children by
him as well. When she learns of these truths, her suffering and shame is so great that she hangs
herself.

The reader is likely also to experience sympathy for Jocasta because
she was a just and kind ruler overall.

Through these events, it is easy to
see that Jocasta fits all the qualities of a typical Greek tragic hero or heroine.