Unlike his response to prophecy, Oidipous correctly understands his wife’s statement as instruction but incorrectly assumes that her entreaties are selfishly motivated and thus misinterprets them as an attempt to protect her status against the erosion that would result from the revelation of an inappropriate marriage. Her motives are better, in this respect, than Oidipous thinks, and the inappropriateness of the marriage is much worse than he imagines. His misjudgments present the audience with the problem of judging both complex characters and circumstances. [Mpei] That Oidipous ascribes to Iokaste the relatively venial sin of caring more about status than her husband’s needs transfers her concern with status to him. [Mpea] [Mg] Focus on mortal relationships and needs distracts attention from the gods’relationships and needs. Oidipous’s impulses and thinking put divine status at issue and eliminate the possibility of a cooperative relationship between gods and mortals. [P] [Dnc]