The Furies: A Novel by Natalie Haynes Read Free Book Online Page B

desk into ever more perfect straight lines. ‘I mean what year or what century or whatever. Obviously.’
    ‘It’s the Bronze Age,’ I said.
    ‘And when’s that?’ she asked, just before I realised I didn’t entirely know.
    ‘Are there dinosaurs?’ Ricky asked.
    ‘Don’t be an idiot.’ Jono twitched, like he was trying to shake the words out of his head.
    ‘I was just asking.’
    ‘No, it’s later than dinosaurs,’ I told him. ‘Sophocles is writing in the fifth century BC, two and a half thousand years ago. And the time when this play is set is the mythic past to him, right? Like Robin Hood, or…’ I saw Jono’s eyebrows contract. ‘Or maybe William Wallace would be to us. So this play is set in the past, and it’s set in Thebes, which is where Oedipus was born. His father, Laius, and his mother, Jocasta, were delighted to have a baby son. But then they were told that Oedipus had this terrible fate predicted for him.’
    ‘Who by?’ asked Annika.
    I couldn’t remember. ‘An oracle,’ I said, hoping this was true.
    ‘What’s an oracle?’ she said.
    I was definitely going to need to do more reading before their next class. ‘It’s like a horoscope,’ I said. ‘And it predicts that he’ll commit two terrible crimes.’
    ‘He’ll kill his dad and shag his mum?’
    ‘Exactly, Jono. And, as you might expect, his parents didn’t want that to happen on several counts. So they tried to get around it. When Oedipus was still a baby, they sent him away with a servant who’d been ordered to leave him out on a hillside to die.’
    ‘Oh my God,’ said Carly, her pale red hair swinging as she also started tipping back in her chair. I could feel my jaw tense as I waited for the chair legs to come back to the floor. It was like watching a glass that someone had left balanced on the edge of a table, waiting for it to crash to the ground. ‘Isn’t that illegal?’
    ‘It is now, yes. So don’t get any ideas. But no, it wasn’t then. Besides, Laius was the king of Thebes, and Jocasta was the queen, so they could pretty much do what they wanted. And that isn’t all. Do you know what Oedipus means?’
    They all shook their heads.
    ‘It means swollen foot. Because his feet were pinned together when he was taken out to the mountainside, so he wouldn’t be able to move.’
    ‘Jesus,’ said Jono. ‘How did they do that?’
    ‘I don’t know, exactly. I suppose the pins must have gone through the soft part of his feet.’
    ‘That’s horrible.’ Carly looked appalled.
    ‘Yes. But the servant who was sent to abandon him there couldn’t bring himself to leave a baby to die like that, so he gave him to a kindly shepherd instead.’
    ‘He wasn’t a paedophile, was he, miss?’ asked Ricky.
    ‘Not in Sophocles’ version, no. Or in any other version,’ I added, seeing his mouth begin to form another question. I wished he had a jumper or something. Pale red hairs were standing up on his bare arms.
    ‘The kindly shepherd and his wife took the child to Corinth, which is another town in Greece. It’s the skinny bit in the middle between the north, where Athens is, and the south, in case you’ve been to Greece.’
    ‘I’ve been to Chios,’ said Mel. ‘I went with my dad two years ago.’
    ‘Well, maybe if he takes you again, you could go to the mainland, instead of one of the islands. Or as well, if he’s feeling generous.’
    She smiled at me. ‘Maybe I’ll ask him,’ she said, nodding.
    ‘Now, the king and queen of Corinth didn’t have any children, and they really wanted one. So they adopted this baby that the shepherd had brought to their city. But they never told him he was adopted. So when Oedipus grew up and heard rumours about his fate – that he was going to kill his father and marry his mother – he was horrified. He loved the people he thought were his parents and didn’t want to harm them in any way. He wanted to protect them, so he ran away from Corinth. Which way do you