Maria is reading a humorous story in which many of the ideas are downplayed or treated casually, which literary device is the author using in the story?

The answer is Understatement.

It's an understatement

the servant does not kill the child oedipus as he was ordered to do because "he pitied the child" based on the oedipus rex story. the servant was ordered to kill the child because of the prophecy that predicted king laius' death. the king already had attempted to hurt oedipus by piercing oedipus's ankle. however, the servant did not finish the job and he rather saved the baby oedipus.

explanation:

most likely the answer would be a.) cupidity

definitions:

cupidity - greed for money or possessions

hydrophobia - extreme or irrational fear of water, especially as a symptom of rabies in humans

pathology - the science of the causes and effects of diseases, especially the branch of medicine that deals with the laboratory examination of samples of body tissue for diagnostic or forensic

patho -   relating to disease