When he uttered my name in his woman's voice I passed out
*
Life has to go on.
I put it about that he was a twin
and this was his sister
come down to live
while he himself
was working abroad.
And at first I tried to be kind;
blow-drying his hair till he learnt to do it himself,
lending him clothes till he started to shop for his own,
sisterly, holding his soft new shape in my arms all night.
Then he started his period.
One week in bed.
Two doctors in.
Three painkillers four times a day.
Another pithy, neat summary. This is perhaps the dramatic climax, the line that introduces the humour. What follows shows how little Tiresias the man has truly changed, beyond the physical transformation.
From Mrs Tiresias