Abstract

From a purely theoretical stance, Pynchon’s widely taught The Crying of Lot 49 proves to be an excellent text for illustrating to students the postmodern concept of the end of essentialism, seen through the multiple point of view and the fragmentation of identity in the characters. From the very first lines, students accept that the protagonist is torn between being, at once, a fairly anonymous suburban housewife living in California and a sort of female version of the mythical Oedipus. They also accept easily enough that the reference to Oedipus implies two things: that she will be sent on a quest which will require going away and learning something (with or without coming back and—the sexual reverse of the Greek hero—killing her mother and marrying her father); and secondly, that she may be related in some way to the Freudian psychological interpretation of this sexual situation.

How to Cite:

Wallhead, C., (2011) “Using Schema Theory to Trace the Connections between the Different Aspects of the Conflicting Roles of Oedipa Maas and the Intertext of Remedios Varo”, Pynchon Notes , 87-99. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/pn.7