Jocasta's Suicide And The Subsequent Blinding Of Oedipus

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, we see him emotionally hit rock bottom. And once again, when we hear of his blinding, we are forced to confront the full range of emotion that he has portrayed on the stage. Unable to face the horrific consequences of his unknown actions, we see a man who is now unwilling and unable to face the facts that lie in front of him. A man who can not within himself perceptually fathom all that has taken place in his young life, and can not see a future for himself. We feel his sense of pain, and anguish. In many ways we pity him for being an apparent pawn in the wicked game played by the gods. And we ourselves can not see anyway in which he could continue to hold his position of honor and dignity among his people.
Much of this would have changed if we had actually seen the suicide / blinding onstage. The audience would be influenced by the personality characteristics that the actors would have brought to the role. There is a possibility that the true emotional state that Socrates was intending the audience to feel would have been lost, depending on the creative interpretation of each actor on the stage at the time of the suicide / blinding scene. When a drama is performed and viewed by an audience we are open to the interpretations of the director and the actors. They themselves may interpret a scene a in a certain manner and my lean toward a more tragic or even less tragic of a demise for two of the drama's main characters. But when a audience is exposed to an offstage incident, they can only interpret that particular scene based on the lines and actions of the character while onstage. Therefore the audience member is forced to reflect on the emotional state of each character prior to the offstage demise.