"But now my eye sees you": Hierophany in Job and The Crying of Lot 49. (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Carson, Jordan
• Is Part Of: Christianity and literature. Volume 65:Number 4(2016)
• Page Start: 430
• Page End: 454
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: ambiguity -- Job -- The Crying of Lot 49 -- Thomas Pynchon -- transcendent; Christianity and literature -- Periodicals; Literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; 809.933823
• DOI: 10.1177/0148333115599886
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0148-3331

Abstract

This article argues Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 is a postsecular retelling of the book of Job. The novel not only alludes directly to Job, but shares plot, structure, and theme. Both texts explore religious meaning; divining the nature of the transcendent is the primary task of both protagonists. Further, both texts detail an education in uncertainty: as the voice from the whirlwind "answers" neither Oedipa nor Job according to expectations, each comes to understand the innate uncertainty of life and gains the self-knowledge and wisdom to live fully in spite of and according to this ambiguity.