No Matter How Many Times I Try, Fate Somehow Finds Me

Kind of a funny phenomenon, honestly

“A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” — Jean de La Fontaine, Fables

I’ve been thinking about that quote a lot.

Have you ever heard the story of Oedipus? It’s…a weird one. But it does relate really well to the quote. It goes something like this:

There’s an oracle who tells a man named Laius, the King of Thebes, that his unborn son, Oedipus, will kill him. Laius does not like this. When Oedipus is born, Laius takes him to a remote mountainside and leaves him to die. Not exactly what I’d call being a great parent, but hey, different times.

By chance, a passing shepherd rescues Oedipus and brings him to the king of Corinth, who raises him as his own. Many years later, after Oedipus is a grown, young man, he leaves Corinth and embarks on a journey.

Along the way, he crosses paths with an old man who is accompanied by a handful of servants. An argument escalates into a fight, and Oedipus kills the old man and all but one of his servants (like I said, different times).

The old man, of course, was his father Laius. However, Oedipus doesn’t find this out for many years.

Later on in his journey, he finds himself outside of Thebes (the land his now-dead father ruled), where he meets a womanly creature called The Sphinx. The Sphinx guards passage to the city and devours all who attempt to pass that cannot answer a riddle:

What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night?

Oedipus, being the “hero” of our story, correctly answers a human being because humans crawl on all fours when young, then walk upright in youth, and use a cane in old age.

The Sphinx, distraught and angry that she won’t be devouring Oedipus’ soul that day, kills herself. A bit dramatic if you ask me but whatever.

The people of Thebes, not knowing Oedipus was the one who killed their king, reward him with a marriage offering…to Jocasta…the widowed Queen. Oedipus, not knowing that Jocasta is his mother, marries her, and together they have four children.