CoL49 Chapter 4

[J K Van Nort]

I'm with David, where are the beneficiaries? If Pierce had a wife, with or without kids, wouldn't that be a real poke in the eye naming Oedipa, a past girlfriend, as the executor? The sale of the stamps seems obvious: Oedipa doesn't want them, no one to inherit them, and as a plot device, it sets up the ending.

Pierce comes across more like Howard Hughes, no family, no beneficiaries, a possible stranger inheriting the fortune because he did Hughes a favor. Oedipa seems to have been the only meaningful relationship in his life. Metzger doesn't claim friendship or even close business relationships. When I think of Micky Wolffmann from Inherent Vice, I see the complete opposite of Pierce. Many of the other uber-wealthy men of the Pynchon world have families, usually ones they regret, ones they cheat, ones they despise. Pierce is a ghost, who tells no tales, only his business interests and Oedipa's memories speak about his character.

In solidarity,
James

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone


On Saturday, June 15, 2024, 09:00, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

On Sat, Jun 15, 2024 at 8:19 AM Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>
wrote:

no mention of beneficiaries


THIS seems to me the most OBVIOUS missing element of the story.  I can’t
think of any inheritance stories that don’t involve intrigue and jealousy,
revolving around the beneficiaries that will be revealed at the reading of
The Will.  Like, who cares about what is being auctioned (an asset just
changing its liquidity)?  We JUST WANT THE MONEY!!!

>
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