There is very little love or human warmth in The Crying of Lot 49. From the very beginning, Oedipa Maas feels totally isolated and alone. She has a real sense that the void is just beneath her feet… and she doesn't even get by with a little (or any, really) help from her friends.
As complex as the novel becomes, at some level it can be read simply as Oedipa's attempt to escape from the feeling of being cold and alone—and her attempt to find a real human connection. No happy ending here, though.
Questions About Isolation
- Does Oedipa's sense of isolation increase or decrease as the novel goes on? What causes the increase or decrease?
- How does Oedipa attempt to overcome her sense of isolation in the novel?
- Are there any emotionally rewarding human relationships in Lot 49?
- How is the Tristero a possible source of comfort to those who feel alienated and dispossessed?
Chew on This
The complexity of the Tristero conspiracy is born of the fact that Oedipa feels a need to construct an elaborate world around herself in order to escape from her feelings of despair and loneliness.
At the end of the novel, Oedipa's total isolation allows her to have a unique realization about the nature of America, and about how Tristero might unite the American dispossessed.