CoL49 - 2nd section of chapter 5

[J K Van Nort]

Greetings,
Sorry this is late. 
Summary:
Oedipa's conversation continues with the Inamorati Anonymous gentleman. He explains their purpose and also the story of the founder, who contemplating suicide after the loss of his job and marriage has a revelation. The story of how the muted posthorn symbol became a for the group involves a Yoyodyne mid level administrator who loses his job, his wife, and his reason to live and just as he is about to kill himself in the same form as a Buddhist monk protesting Vietnam, he has a revelation that love is the problem. The gasoline has soaked a series of letters that he received (presumably) through W.A.S.T.E. which wipes the ink to reveal a watermark with the muted posthorn. He forms the IA and uses the muted posthorn as its symbol. The Isolate leaves her to go to the bathroom and never returns. She leaves the Greek Way and wanders the city, finding the posthorn symbol everywhere. She finds children dreaming that they are playing together, In a Mexican restaurant, she meets Jesus Arrabal, a Mexican anarchist she had met in Mazatlan with Pierce. He describes Pierce as the reason he has stayed with anarchy, as Pierce represents everything he despises. He describes a miracle as 'another world's intrusion into this one. She continues through the 'infected city' where she sees more examples of the posthorn, finally finding an old drunken sailor with the posthorn tattooed onto his hand. She comforts him, and he asks her to mail a letter to his wife through W.A.S.T.E., which she says she doesn't know how to use. He tells her she can find a location under the highway. She helps him to bed and imagines that he will die by having his cigarette ignite his mattress when he falls asleep.

Questions:Why is it love and not capitalism that the founder of IA believes has ruined his life?Why would a member of the IA be getting drunk in a gay bar?Why does Oedipa feel despair when she realizes that "nobody around her has any sexual relevance" to her?How does the founding story of the Isolate at the gay bar compare with the drunken sailor grieving his wife? Why is that important?

In solidarity,
James

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