Long afterward, Oedipus, old and blinded, walked the
roads.+++He smelled a familiar 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.”