Loren Passerine

[Dave Monroe]

"'We're in luck.  Loren Passerine, the finest
auctioneer in the West, will be crying today.'" (Lot
49, Ch. 6, p. 183)

What does it mean to be "the finest auctioneer in the
West," and why is it "lucky" that he's "crying today"?
Along with all the other curious imagery here ...

>From J. Kerry Grant, A Companion to The Crying of Lot
49 (Athens: U of Georgia P, 1994) ...

"H183.1, B137.27  'Loren Passerine'  As Watson notes,
Passerine's name refers to an order of birds, one that

'includes the passerine ground-dove' (69), beginning
the many associations with Penetcost developed in this
closing scene." (p. 139)

Citing ...

Watson, Robert N.  "Who Bids for Tristero?
   The Conversion of Pynchon's Oedipa Maas."
   Southern Humanities Review 17 (Winter 1983):
   59-75.

http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/Dove%20Pics/EX/Common%20Ground%20Dove.jpg

But note the date of coinage here ...

pas·ser·ine 
'pa-s&-"rIn
adjective
Latin passerinus of sparrows, from passer sparrow
1776
: of or relating to the largest order (Passeriformes)
of birds which includes over half of all living birds
and consists chiefly of altricial songbirds of
perching habits -- compare OSCINE
- passerine noun 

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

"the legacy America" (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 182)

Hm.  And do cf., noting here esp. the etymology,
"oscine" ...

os·cine 
'ä-"sIn
adjective
New Latin Oscines, suborder name, from Latin, plural
of oscin-, oscen songbird, bird giving omens by its
cry, from obs-, ob- in front of, in the way + canere
to sing -- more at OB-, CHANT
1883
: of or relating to a large suborder (Oscines) of
passerine birds (as larks, shrikes, finches, orioles,
and crows) characterized by a vocal apparatus highly
specialized for singing
- oscine noun 

"Beyond all reason," my ass (= Maas).  Okay, can't
recall, can't locate, just who points this out and
where, but note also that ...

Passerine = "Pass 'er in"

Is there some sort of pun going on here as well, in
French, perhaps?  L'or en pas, er, well, my French Fu
is weak, old man, so someone, please, let me know. 
And for the record ...

Loren = Lawrence = "Crowned with Laurels" ...

"Loren Passerine, on his podium, hovered like a puppet
master, his eyes bright, his smile practiced and
relentless." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)

http://www.maxxmktg.com/fantastic8.jpg

"He stared at her, smiling, as if saying, I'm
surprised you actually came." (ibid.)

"as if" = paranoia?  By the way ...

"The men inside the auction room wore black mohair and
had pale, cruel faces." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)

Again, cf. Ezra Pound ... 

"In the Station of the Metro" (1913) 

The apparition of these faces in the crowd: 
Petals on a wet, black bough 

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/pound3.html

And recall ... 

"White faces, like diseased blooms, bobbed along in 
the dark" (V., Ch. 9, Sec. i, p. 244) 

But back to ...

"She heard a lock snap shut; the sound echoed a
moment." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)

Not only another echo (an echo of Echo ...), but also 
some justification for paranoia here.  No exit ...

"Passerine spread his arms in a gesture that seemed to
belong to the priesthood of some remote culture;
perhaps to a descending angel." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p.
183)

http://www.shepherd.wvnet.edu/englweb/artworks/A20.jpg

"Watson points out that the 'descending angel' image
is more closely linked with the idea of Annunciation
than with that of Pentecost: 'The implied visitation
of the Holy Ghost might refer to his descent to
impregnate Mary rather than to his descent to plant
new speech in the Disciples.  If we accept the notion
that Oedipa will, to her own shock, turn out to be the
Tristero bidder, the the possibilities are not
mutually exclusive.  Oedipa's gestation of a new,
Tristero self, the Annunciation of the meaning of that
pregnancy, and her Pentecostal moment of finding
unexpected foreign speech on her tongue, all culmiante
together when Oedipa finds herself bidding for the
Tristero' (69)." (Grant, p. 141)

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/klein/204/ANNUNCIATION.jpg

And, finally (?) ...

"The auctioneer cleared his throat.  Oedipa settled
back, to await the crying of Lot 49." (Lot 49, Ch. 6,
p. 183)

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=lot+49

Well, I realize we're not QUITE done with The Crying
of Lot 49 yet, although Mason & Dixon does loom over
the horizon, but lest I not get the chance to say so
afore we cross over that line, thanks, Saouied, for
organizing this AND kicking it off, thanks, Sam, for
continuing to bring it to a dignified end, thanks
ev'ryone else in between for hosting and ev'ryone
beyond that for putting up with me, and, if all else
fails, will see you in a couple of weeks for Chs. 2 &
3 of Mason & Dixon.  I've been doing a little basic
research that I'm hoping will be of use to ev'rybody
throughout the reading and then some, so ...


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