On Contemplating Hermes and Eshu

Why is it that someone can say something that is completely misunderstood by the interlocutor?  
I think it was Gadamer who wrote that Greek myths are not to be understood literally but in terms of their being representations of the ancient Greek psyche. If this is true, much can be learned by remembering who Hermes was: god of travel, cunning and communication (as well as athletics, commerce - and invention). Similar to him on a most superficial level is Eshu, the Yoruba god of travel, (mis)fortune, trickery and communication. Both have connections with death.
Communication, cunning, death.
Eshu is known for leading humans to chaos, only to teach them hard lessons.
Hermes is known as the father of hermeneutics (the study of interpretation).
So, without leaving the literal plane and entering the plane of where words are not what they are, we cannot have hope of transcending the shackles that bind us. Retaining peace of mind in the face of the absurd is so necessary. Sometimes (with reasonable people) the absurd is a moment of weakness that slips away like a paper napkin in a breeze. Sometimes more than one person agrees to the chaos, thus the ostensibly malignant emerges. If this is the case, one can count on those people being ready to sell each other out, because love is not there, and they all know it.
The only antidote to interpretive skirmishes is silence in the face of the attack. This is a sign of checked pride and good will.
So, the words, while sometimes being the best vessels through which to share the impoverished experience of our lives, can also become weapons of deception. Words are not to be idolised; one must not expect others to be receptacles of good will. Sometimes the message will slip between the lines (i.e. away from the words, behind what is said). 
One's words can be misunderstood because there is trickery at the crossroads. But all is not lost if one considers what a headmaster of mine used to say. The bad things that happen to us are like images of a bad movie projected onto a screen. The bad happens in appearance only. So, to return to the matter at hand, if one's words are misinterpreted, one can retreat to silence and the safe space that is between the lines.
What we say is about us, and for our own (sometimes painful) edification. What other people make of it is all about them.