Oedipa's Strange Character

I’m not going to lie; The Crying of Lot 49 is an extremely strange book. It’s so weird and complex that we even took an entire class period to dissect just the first paragraph. But, it’s very interesting. The quote I chose from this week comes from the first paragraph. It’s when Oedipa questions Pierces death, “Was that how he’d died, she wondered, among dreams, crushed by the only ikon in the house? That only made her laugh, out loud and helpess: You’re so sick, Oedipa, she told herself, or the room, which knew.” (pg 1-2)

First impressions are a very big deal, and Oedipa’s first impression is a strange one. We find out she will execute her ex-boyfriends will and her reactions are quite bizarre. When thinking about her boyfriend’s death, she laughs it off. I found this extremely odd. You would think moments reflecting back to a personal death would bring about sad emotions, but Oedipa laughs at the situation. It almost makes her appear a little crazy. Even if he was her ex-boyfriend, we know from the situation of the will that they were hot and heavy at some point. There could be many possibilities of the laughter produced from the thought of Pierce’s death. Perhaps it’s a coping mechanism that Oedipa uses to get past his death, joking about the matter to make it seem like a light situation. It truly makes me question the relationship she had with Pierce. They seem like a very quirky couple, but was the love even there? How could she not even be slightly depressed when thinking back on his death? It’s a very perplexing situation. It makes me question the motives of Oedipa. Could it be that she was with Pierce for the amounts of money he held? Her character is already complex within the first paragraph of the book; I can’t even imagine what will happen with her throughout the rest of the book.