Having so strenuously resisted the summons to change, Oedipus suffered terribly in the process of transformation. But we often overlook the sequel to Oedipus Rex. Sophocles meant us to see that after the death came a rebirth and a new way of being in the world. By the time we meet Oedipus again in Oedipus at Colonus, he has passed through the suffering of loss. Leaning on the cane that the sphinx’s riddle had referred to, he is not just old but spiritually enlightened and a blessing to whatever town harbors him.
