CoL49 - 2nd section of chapter 5

[Mark Kohut]

1)
Questions:Why is it love and not capitalism that the founder of IA believes
has ruined his life?

Because the tower of capitalism is everywhere; he makes his living within
it and it cost him Love.....

2) Why would a member of the IA be getting drunk in a gay bar?

Wants to get drunk and meet no one to tempt his commitment...

3) Why does Oedipa feel despair when she realizes that "nobody around her
has any sexual relevance" to her.

Because in a "normal" world/ environment there is always ...some chemistry
between the sexes....but not here...
She doesn't feel like a woman, a major part of her identity.

4) How does the founding story of the Isolate at the gay bar compare with
the drunken sailor grieving his wife?
IA founder lost her without being able to grieve her....rejection....so the
normal human grief of the sailor for a
wife he loved and lost is lost to him.....



On Tue, Jul 2, 2024 at 6:37 AM J K Van Nort via Pynchon-l <
pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:

> 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
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>