CoL49 Chapter 4

[David Morris]

On Sat, Jun 15, 2024 at 4:17 AM Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 1) Why does Oedipa connect understanding Tristero to finding Meaning in
> Pierce's testament?


It’s a very good question. In fact, why does she fuck Metz?  He’s a little
bit of a turn-on, but sex (per se) is not her motivation. From the start,
it is a battle of wits.  But WHY?  It’s almost as if she’s using her new
“power” as a tool to dig into the “corrupt” world of REAL Estate!  (The
ONLY “real” wealth).

Good question!


Yes!  BUT!  Are any of these “speculations” suggested anywhere in the text?

- what if Pierce didn’t leave enough to cover his debts - like that guy in
> _A Man in Full_ maybe the whole empire was a house of cards
> - maybe they are liquidating (selling the stamp collection, eg)
> - anyway, if that’s the case, maybe she seeks meaning in non-financial
> terms and follows her liberal arts training to pursue the alternative post
> phenomenon
> - or, maybe she sees Tristero as a/the wreaker of Pierce’s downfall, and is
> trying to figure out which of his activities brought on their wrath
>
>  - if Pierce represents JFK - but his shtick is totally different - but if
> he somehow does anyway, maybe her efforts are linked to the idea of trying
> to keep the New Frontier vision alive?



>