Lacanian Mirror Phase: Oedipus the King The essence of this article is to determine whether or not Jocasta played a larger role in the rise and fall of the character of the title. The article will examine the drama Oedipus Tyrannus through the eyes of the French theorist Jacques Lacan. Specifically, the article will focus on the mirror stage of Lacan's theories. As for the criteria the article will use, there are some "truths" that need to be established regarding the Lacanian division of thought. In Lacan's way of thinking, we all have repressed desires, and these desires can never be satisfied. In language there are similar "eternal desires" that cannot be satisfied. Lacan goes further by identifying the patriarchal society we live in as founded on the words of men. Therefore, women have no voice in this world and cannot be satisfied in their lifetime. To better understand Jocasta's character it is necessary to know the Lacanian theory on which it is based. Lacan's mirror phase, originally espoused by Freud, and its relationship to the conscious and unconscious. Freud believed that when a child looked at an image of himself in the mirror, at some point in his/her development he/she would "realize" that the reflection was him/herself that he/she was seeing. It is at this moment in a child's life that the "I" is formed, or the formation of "self-awareness". This ego is present in all people; it serves to remember who we are and where we come from. However, Freud believed that to be a fully developed human being, we must move from the simple awareness that we are ourselves. We must know or come to know that we are not the only ones in the mirror. The "child", ourselves and our ego, must also realize that our "mother" is there in the reflection with us. In doing so we begin to understand that we are not the only ones in the image and therefore we are not at the center of being. Furthermore, we "turn" to our mothers and look at them, breaking the selfish gaze. It is the ability to break the primary concern of seeing ourselves that allows us to enter society. We need to be able to break that worried look and focus it on our “Mothers” or society so to speak. It therefore constitutes the mirror stage of Freud's theory.