by Jacqulyn Martin

Created on: January 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

The role of Oedipa Maas in The Crying of Lot 49 is that of a woman on a quest to define herself. She must realize who she is, and who she is meant to be, through a journey she is led on by Pierce Inverarity, her deceased former lover. Oedipa's job of "sorting it all out" (1) also applies to the reader's job of sorting through all the references in the text and piecing the plot together. Oedipa will have a "revelation to come through the stamp collection Pierce had left" (31) which we learn was Pierce's "substitute often for her" (31). This leads the reader to suspect that the stamp collection will be more relevant to Oedipa and her quest than we know at this point in the text.

The stamp collection becomes Oedipa's main leading clue in her journey, and continues to reappear throughout the storyline. On the bottom of page 31, we learn that Oedipa is not at all looking forward to the separation and inventory of Pierce's estate that lies ahead of her, and considers it "only another headache." As of yet, she still does not realize that it "might have something to tell her." This "something" is never totally revealed. The reader is led on this journey for the truth alongside Oedipa and we never truly know if there is a revelation. We learn that Pierce sometimes saw his stamp collection as a substitute for Oedipa herself, and the stamp collection is a vital component in her journey, so is it possible that the revelation Oedipa will be met with is simply a mirror of herself?
At the end of the novel, Oedipa is patiently awaiting the bidder of the stamp collection to make himself known, believing that his identity will answer all questions she may have. The reader is never made aware of the bidder's identity, if a bidder in fact exists, and therefore never knows if Oedipa herself ever receives her revelation. Without this sense of closure in the story, it is possible that the revelation, the stamp collection, the journey, the novel itself, is simply a quest for Oedipa to find herself. To break free of the life she led before Pierce's death, to gain excitement and adventure at her own will. With Pierce stating that the stamp collection, the main tool in Oedipa's journey, sometimes reminded Pierce of Oedipa herself, we wonder if perhaps she will only find a mirror image of everything she has had all along, or a view of the new Oedipa, the Oedipa who is more cultured and understanding of the world around her, no longer willing to sit back and let life happen to her. She

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