CoL49 Ch5 third section Weekly Reading

[Mark Kohut]

James took up the hosting because I did not--and can't at the moment.
Salute him.

On Fri, Jul 12, 2024 at 11:08 AM J K Van Nort via Pynchon-l <
pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:

> Sorry for the delay. I'm taking up the hosting for the week.
>
> Summary:After helping the sailor up the stairs and onto his "Viking
> funeral" bed, Oed gives him money and takes his letter to mail. She heads
> down under the freeway where she eventually finds a trash can labeled
> W.A.S.T.E. She hovers and watches until a young man drops in a bundle. She
> puts the letter inside and returns to her observation point until a young
> wino gathers the contents. She follows him and his successor whom he hands
> the bag off. She follows this wino as he delivers around Oakland.
> Eventually she returns to her hotel, where the deaf-mute association is
> having a silent dance where every dancing pair dances to their own music.
> She is waltzed around the room until the synonymous break, when she flees
> to her room. After sleeping she drives the Impala down to Kinneret,
> deciding to visit Dr. Hilarius, who takes pock shots at her as she enters.
> His assistant lets her into the office, where she learns that Hilarius has
> a psychic breakdown, believing the Israeli's are after him. She tries to
> talk him down from the precipice, but he considers her to be an enemy. He
> relates his history as a psychiatrist in the Nazi death camp, Buchenwald.
> He was in charge of 'faces' that would have psychotic effects on the Jewish
> prisoners. He describes one face that can create immediate and irreparable
> psychic damage,  which he used on one Zvi. The sirens of the police can be
> heard, and Hilarius pulls Oed into his office, where he tells her the
> details, including his efforts to pay 'penance' by attempting to become a
> believer of Freud.
>
> Questions:
> Although she learns much about W.A.S.T.E., Oed leaves the Bay area without
> finding a source or definitive W.A.S.T.E. facility beyond the bin and the
> currier's route. Why does she think that Dr Hilarius will help her?
>
> How does Hilarius' crimes in Buchenwald move the plot forward or help to
> understand either character?
>
> Is Oedipa Jewish? How does her response to Hilarius' revelations expand
> her character?
>
> How does Hilarius' explanation of LSD and blending of individuals into one
> compare with Oedipa's efforts to understand W.A.S.T.E.?
>
> In solidarity,
> James
>
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>