When Jocasta says "it's all chance," she makes a terrible and terribly dangerous error. What is that error? Why is that error central to the play?

 

The terrible error made by Jocasta was when she tells Oedipus that prophecies do not come true, and she uses the fact that an oracle incorrectly prophesied that Laius would be killed by his own son as evidence. When Jocasta says "It's all chance", she is telling Oedipus that humans have no control over their own lives. Fate or chance, determines what will happen to everyone. Therefore, it is useless to fear what we cannot control or understand. She uses a metaphor to say that humans are "groping through the dark," completely unaware of what lies ahead of them in their lives. At this point, Jocasta is convinced that her version of the facts is true. However, Her baby was spared and adopted by others, and he indeed killed his own father, Laius, at the crossroads. Jocasta's dismissal of Apollo's prophesy is her own form of hubris. The what-so-called FATE is just her assumptions. Maybe due to her overconfident self or exaggerated pride that made her say that there's nothing to fear. Her mistake was crucial to the play because oracles speak to a purpose and are inspired by the gods who control the destiny of men. Throughout the play, the Chorus has been miserable, desperate for the plague to end and for stability to be restored to the city.tl The Chorus holds staunchly to the belief that the prophesies of Tiresias will come true. For if they do not, there is no order on earth or in the heavens.