MMV - Notes on names

[jbor]

on 24/3/03 11:17 AM, John Bailey at johnbonbailey at hotmail.com wrote:

> “David Lupescu” Hollander notes the lupus-wolf connotations, as well as the
> Magda Lupescu (1896-1977 - ‘official’ mistress and later wife of Caroll II
> of Romania) link. She was unpopular ‘due to her Jewish origin’, which may be
> relevant to this story. This second is perhaps supported by the latter
> reference to David L. as Romanian.

I think it's quite likely that Pynchon took "Lupescu" for a Rumanian
character's surname simply because it is actually a Rumanian surname, just
like he uses "Loon" aptly for an Ojibwa, as a sop to "realism". He might
even have seen the name in a newspaper report or reference book somewhere,
and picked it up, but there's no legitimate connection I can see between
Magda Lupescu and the absconding leaseholder in the story apart from this
coincidence of their names. Using such coincidences as the basis for
literary interpretation seems a rather bizarre and pointless pastime,
particularly if the actual allusions and themes written into the story are
being put aside in the process.

best