D'Amico

[Samuel Moyer]

p. 166 - When Bortz asked her one evening if he could bring in D'Amico, who
was at NYU, Oedipa told him no, too fast, too nervous.  He didn't mention it
again and neither, of course, did she.

That "of course" keeps stopping me.  Not in a -the author pulled me out of
the story sense- but rather... what is the narrator trying to convey here?

D'Amico only comes up once earlier that I could find.  p. 155 - "D'Amico
thinks this edition was a Scurvhamite project."  Scurvhamites were a sect of
the most pure Puritans.  And possibly Richard Wharfinger was one of them,
wrote the dirty version of the play, the one that is locked away in the
Vatican and the only version which mentions Tristero (156 also).

So what we know of D'Amico is that he is some sort of Puritan Scholar from
NYU who is perhaps most familiar with Scurvhamites and in position to tell
Oedipa more about the origins of the word "Tristero."

So why did Oedipa, when Bortz offered to bring in D'Amico, did she say no so
quickly? And why didn't Bortz mention it again, or Oedipa (of course)?

She is being selective about her sources... she still consults Bortz, but
not D'Amico.  She goes to see Fallopian....  or as the narrator tells us,
"She did go back to the Scope though, restless, alone, leery of what she
might find."  -p. 166

We also know that she has taken to grinding her back molars, a nervous
habit, during the past few days (167).

Apparently she's come undone.  Doesn't want more information if it comes
from new sources, she will see Cohen again, for instance.  But anyone else
is out of the question, she's afraid?  But she will wait to see who the
bidder is...

Anyone want to take a crack at this... tell us what they think the narrator
is trying to tell us... or what is behind Oedipa's choices?

Boy I hope Dave hasn't already brought this all up.  My ISP is down, they
tell me all weekend... ticks me off... $40 a month cable service and it's
down for three days.  I'll have to install a modem I have laying around, use
a 30 day free offer, just to get this out.

Sam