Myth

Long afterwards, Oedipus, old and blinded, walked the roads. He smelled a familar smell. It was the Sphinx. Oedipus said, "I want to ask one question. Why didn't I recognize my mother?"

"You gave the wrong answer," said the Sphinx.

"But that was what made everything possible," said Oedipus.

"No," she said. "When I asked, 'What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening,' you answered, 'Man.' You didn't say anything about woman."

"When you say Man," said Oedipus, "you include women, too. Everyone knows that."

She said, "That's what you think."

~Muriel Rukeyser.