COLGR49: Chapter 1 Summary - Thoughts

[Amaranth56 at aol.com]

o.sell at telda.net writes:

> On Testaments (both old and new, in law and in religion)
>  
> America is the Promised Land, 'God's Own Country', where "His"
> will shall be executed. Pierce is God (or some entity from above
> or in limbo, he never occurs in the novel and is only referred to) 
> whose will has to be executed by Oedipa:
> "the legacy was Amerika (...) coded in Inverarity's testament" (123-124).

To take it a step further, Oedipus has at least one element of a
Christ-like figure.  In _Greek Myths_ by Robert Graves, he writes
that Laius was told by the Delphic Oracle that any child born to his
wife would kill him (Laius).  When their child was born, Laius
"pierced his feet with a nail and, binding them together, exposed
him on Mount Cithaeron."

Shortly thereafter . . .

"A Corinthian shepherd found him, named him Oedipus because
his feet were deformed by the nail-wound...."  (Oedipus means
"swollen foot," if I recall correctly.)

So we have a sort of Christ-like figure executing the will of God.

I'm sorry I didn't save the e-mail, but someone noted how the
number 3 often followed mention of Pierce, and the number 2
often followed mention of "Mucho" Ma[a]s (much more *what*?).
Oedipus had 2 feet, but in a way he had 3 because he had to
walk with a stick due to his deformed feet, which is also related
to the riddle of the Sphinx.  I'm not sure where all this leads; a
dead end, most likely!

So do I run for cover now?

Diana