In Homer's epic The Iliad and Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the characters Andromache and Jocasta face tragedy and conflict. Andromache endures the loss of her beloved husband while Jocasta struggles with the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy that she will marry his son. Considering these characters' respective places in society and within their marital relationships, their outlook and behavior, Homer's Andromache emerges as a more ideal wife and mother than Sophocles' Jocasta. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before entering into their current marriages, both Andromache and Jocasta are noble women. The daughter of King Eetion of Cilicia, Andromache is a princess who marries a prince who leads her "from her father's house with innumerable wedding gifts to win her heart" (22.554-5). Her marriage to Hector is socially acceptable, as she is previously unmarried and brought directly from his home, thus she is respected by her country and Hector's family, as seen when they comfort her after her death, "crowding around her now her husband's sisters" and her brothers' wives supported her among them" (22.556-7). Unlike her Homeric counterpart, Jocasta was married and gave birth to a son to another man that Hector is slightly older or the same age as his wife, Jocasta is at least twelve years older than her husband-son Oedipus. Because she is the queen of Thebes whose husband is a former prince, Jocasta occupies a higher place in society and in marriage compared to Andromache. Considered as a potential mediator by the chorus of Theban citizens, Jocasta should resolve the dispute between Creon and Oedipus, the leader declares that "With her help you will have to put an end to this struggle of yours" (707-8). After Jocasta orders the two men to go to their home, Oedipus and Creon complain to her as if she were a judge, Creon informs her of Oedipus' plan to exile him, and Oedipus tells her, "I caught him in the act... plotting, to stab me in the back" (718-9). As far as their marital relations are concerned, Andromache is the more submissive of the two. Although she begs her husband not to fight at Troy, after Hector explains why she must go, she is seen "smiling through tears" (6.578), understanding his need to gain honor. She doesn't argue with him further about it. Furthermore, after Hector asks her to "go home and attend to the...loom" (6.585-6) she obediently sits "weaving at her loom" (22.516) at the moment of Hector's death. While their relationship may not be equal in power, it is mutually loving, as Andromache "huddles close to him" (6.480) weeps freely at the thought of losing her husband. He then "stroked her gently" (6.579) to console her after declaring that he would die before allowing her to be enslaved in Argos, proclaiming, "Let the earth pile up on my corpse before I hear your cries" (6.556 )! In a touching moment also demonstrative of their loving relationship, the couple shares a final moment of joy when the son cries: "And his loving father laughed, and his mother laughed also" (6.562-3). Andromache's affection for Hector is also evident in the grief she expresses at his death as she wishes she had never been born, crying out, "Wish to God she had never begotten me" (22.565)! For a woman whose entire family was destroyed by Achilles, Hector is everything to her: "my father... my noble mother, even a brother" (22.508-9), and for this she is extremely devoted to him. Jocasta and Oedipus' marriage is also mutually loving, as Oedipus asks his wife, "Who means more to me than you" (849)? He also takes great careof her to feel ashamed for having defiled her, touching her "body with these hands that killed your husband" (908-9). Jocasta assures him of her respect and love by saying, "I would never displease you" (953), although she clearly has the upper hand in the relationship. As Oedipus' confidant, Jocasta believes, "I too have the right, I like to think, to know what tortures you" (845-6) and Oedipus confesses, "I can withhold nothing from you... who would I turn to you" ( 847-9)? He even holds his wife in higher regard than the chorus, saying, "I respect you, Jocasta, much more than these men here" (769-70). The two women differ not only in their status in their respective marriages and societies, but also in their outlook and behavior. Although both believe in the existence and intervention of the gods, Jocasta has less faith in the power of the oracles, although she prays to Apollo: "I invite [Oedipus] kindly...then I address myself to thee" (1006-7) . Andromache is thought to be praying in "the sanctuary of Athena where the noble Trojan women gather" (6.450-1). But, despite her belief in the gods, Andromache believes that the past and present foreshadow the future rather than divine prediction. Upon hearing that the Trojans were being hard-pressed by the Achaeans, she "rushed to the wall in panic, like a madwoman" (6.459) for fear that her husband would have to enter the battle if the Trojans continued to lose. Furthermore, with all the men of his family massacred by Achilles, he fears that Hector will also fall to his sword. On the other hand, Jocasta's attitude is defined by the oracle. Throughout the play he gives no credence to the prophecy and ignores clues such as Oedipus's incestuous fears, dismissing them as common: "Many men before you, in his dreams, have shared his mother's bed" (1074-5). She also advises him that since their lives are governed by chance, it is "better to live at random, as best we can" (1072). Resentful of the oracle for causing her son's death needlessly, she belittles the divination by saying, "Apollo brought about nothing happening. My child no more killed his father than Laius suffered - his wildest fear - death at the hands of his son" (794-6). Although she ridicules the oracle again by saying, “You prophecies of the gods, where are you now?” (1036), he finally gives in to the inevitable when he runs out of the palace shouting, "You are doomed, you may never understand who you are!" (1173-4), realizing that the oracle was correct. When she denigrates the accuracy of the oracle, Jocasta seeks to be a source of stagnation as she begs Oedipus to cease his search for identity, “Stop – in the name of God…stop this search” (1163-4)! However, it has no effect on his will as he attributes his fears to social snobbery and ignores his warnings. Likewise, Andromache tries to prevent her husband from fulfilling his destiny, but pleads in vain: "Have mercy on me, please! Take your stand here on the rampart... before you orphan your son and make your wife a widow." (6.511-2 ) only to receive the final word that, despite her protests and his own qualms, he must go to war. Although she tries to prevent Hector from achieving the fame he is destined to have as a skilled warrior, Andromache has no flaws as a wife and is often described as "loyal" (6.445), "warm, generous" (6.466), and "loving" ( 6,576). Her adoration for her husband can also be seen in her grief upon hearing of his death, in her heart pounding, "leaping in my throat, the knees beneath me paralyzed" (22.530-1), crying "like a mad” (22.541) while her “world turned black as night…gasping its life breath” (548-50). While he suffers, in idyllic Homeric style, he mourns the loss of his great.