A Recurring Theme

One of the themes that appears in The Crying of Lot 49 that has appeared in almost every piece of literature we've recently read, is infidelity. At this point, it is just frustrating me that this is such a prominent theme. It raises questions about the morality of the people at the time the literature was written. Does this theme really reflect the moral standard of the day? Was marital infidelity commonplace? I cannot accept that it was based on what I know about the culture in the 1960's so then why do Pynchon, Faulkner, and various other authors include it in their work? Perhaps Pynchon includes it to display how desperately Oedipa wants an escape from her boring average life. We can tell she is unsatisfied with her life from the first chapter of the book and my theory, for Pynchon at least, is that infidelity is one of the ways she seeks excitement and danger. Even if Oedipa wasn't out looking to sleep with someone, she allowed herself to be in a tempting situation with Metzger. If she was not planing on sleeping with him, it was quite poor planning on her part to be drinking alone with him.

Aside from infidelity being an escape, I believe there is another reason Pynchon, and other authors use sex in their work. Though less elegant an explanation, I find it reliable and probable, and it is that sex sells. From looking at our culture today, this principle is clearly visible, and hard at work in advertising. I find this principle is not exclusive to the advertising world because it shows up in American literature so frequently.

Yet this analysis of Pynchon's use of sexual infidelity may beg the response, "what about the fact that men are coming on to women, not the other way around? Isn't Pynchon commenting on men and their lust for women, not the infidelity of a wife?" Perhaps, and that interpretation is valid especially because of the way Miles, the hotel manager, assumes Oedipa wants to sleep with him in return for playing his demo tape. But I still don't believe that is an accurate commentary on then present day society based on my knowledge of the 60's. Maybe in extreme cases it is, but I do not see that as widespread or acceptable. The interpretation of sex in The Crying of Lot 49 may differ, but Pynchon's motive remains the same. And that is to use sex to sell books. Unfortunately, our culture is fascinated and has historically been fascinated with sex and scandalous happenings. Watching CNN or Fox News is a crystal indicator of that. Unless our culture losses its fascination with sex and infidelity, it will continue to be one of the prevalent theme in Literature.