Tonight at dinner I asked Gwyneth, Elise, and Jeff to explain something about the play Oedipus Rex that we saw last week-end. This was at Phillips, and Scotty, the student we drive to church every Sunday, was Oedipus. I hadn't read this particular Sophoclean play in college, but I had read Antigone too many times to count. I couldn't figure out how the Sphinx was involved in Oedipus' fate. Gwyneth explained it to me; that Thebes had been plagued and the Sphinx challenged Oedipus to solve a riddle to save the people of Thebes from the plague. He did (it's the riddle, "what walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?), the people were cured, and crowned him king, married him unbeknownst to his mother, etc... How did I miss this?? Elise reminded me that the character who explained this bit in the play had dots painted all over her face!! Elise and I were at the 9 o'clock showing, and I had assumed that she was just being well-behaved in front of all the teenagers, not that she was actually following and understanding the play! I realized once again that I'm not too bright.
2 comments:
Well, we all know that you ARE very bright. Just maybe distracted. And your kids are also very bright, so you can't be caught off guard with them.
Nice try saying you aren't bright. Kids are sponges. They soak up everything. What great stimulating conversation. Maybe that is why we like to expose our kids to lots of cultural things. So we can talk to them!
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