Journal 3

What are the gender roles that Sophocles establishes for men and women? Based on Jocasta's response to her husband and brother, do you think she is a strong model of how women should act or is she a warning to women? What about Oedipus' or Creon's actions? How do the genders speak to each other and how do they speak to themselves?

The men in Oedipus are aggressive and controlling with much power. They act on their anger and don't think about what the real truth is, their actions seem to be controlled by their emotions without thought. A strong example of this is when Oedipus is angry at the truth and blames everybody else for the situation. He does not believe Tiresias, he blames Creon, etc. The role of women according to Sophocles is seen through Jocasta. Though her emotions drive her actions just as much, she is able to be more sensible with her actions. She is calm, and does not physically lash out at others at her despair. Women seem to accept what they have and accept their fate without fighting it. This is not a strong model for how women should act and shows that women cannot be so passive with their lives.