Echoes of Narcissus: Classical Mythology and Postmodern Pessimism in the Crying of Lot 49 (Critical Essay‪)‬

The Crying of Lot 49 ends on a seemingly hopeful note. Lot 49 may reveal the existence of an energy source beyond the cultural and existential inertia Oedipa Maas has discovered since she left Kinneret for San Narciso to execute her late lover's will. Shortly before the auction begins, Oedipa anticipates this revelation: The capitalized "Word," culminating as it does the catalog of chaotic din that constitutes Oedipa's world, underscores the desire for transcendence and a return to the coherence and order embodied in the originary Logos.