The Crying of Lot 49

The Crying of Lot 49

by

Thomas Pynchon

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Randolph Driblette Character Analysis

Driblette is the director of The Courier’s Tragedy; he plays Gennaro in his own production. When Oedipa approaches him after the play to ask about his character’s reference to Trystero and the scene in which bones are dumped in a lake, Driblette insists that the play “isn’t literature” and “doesn’t mean anything.” Rather than depending upon the original script, he insists, the meaning of the play lies in his performance of it—he compares himself to a projector, filling a planetarium dome with a projection of the universe. Oedipa later borrows this metaphor to talk about putting together a theory of the Trystero conspiracy. But Driblette also refuses to explain why he had the Trystero bandits attack the protagonist, Niccolò, onstage, although he does note that this was his own idea. Ultimately, while it remains unclear whether or not Driblette is actually involved with Trystero, he does ominously warn Oedipa that she will “never touch the truth.” Later in the book, he stops answering calls, and Professor Emory Bortz tells Oedipa that “they” (presumably Trystero) attacked Driblette, and then he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean. Although Oedipa never uncovers the whole story, she attends Driblette’s funeral in the last chapter of the novel. Driblette’s name is a derivative of “driblet,” which means a small amount of liquid (or anything else). This may reference Driblette’s relative insignificance as an artist or the Pacific Ocean where he died—or it could mean nothing at all, like so many of the play’s other names.

Randolph Driblette Quotes in The Crying of Lot 49

The The Crying of Lot 49 quotes below are all either spoken by Randolph Driblette or refer to Randolph Driblette. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Conspiracy, Interpretation, and Meaning Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

He that we last as Thurn and Taxis knew
Now recks no lord but the stiletto’s Thorn,
And Tacit lies the gold once-knotted horn.
No hallowed skein of stars can ward, I trow,
Who’s once been set his tryst with Trystero.

Related Characters: Randolph Driblette (speaker), Gennaro (speaker), Angelo, Niccolò
Related Symbols: The Tristero Muted Horn Symbol
Page Number: 58
Explanation and Analysis:

“You came to talk about the play,” he said. “Let me discourage you. It was written to entertain people. Like horror movies. It isn’t literature, it doesn’t mean anything. Wharfinger was no Shakespeare.”

“Who was he?” she said.

“Who was Shakespeare. It was a long time ago.”

Related Characters: Oedipa Maas (speaker), Randolph Driblette (speaker), Tony Jaguar, Richard Wharfinger, Angelo
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

Under the symbols she’d copied off the latrine wall of The Scope into her memo book, she wrote Shall I project a world?

Related Characters: Oedipa Maas, Randolph Driblette, Stanley Koteks
Related Symbols: The Tristero Muted Horn Symbol
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis:
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Randolph Driblette Quotes in The Crying of Lot 49

The The Crying of Lot 49 quotes below are all either spoken by Randolph Driblette or refer to Randolph Driblette. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Conspiracy, Interpretation, and Meaning Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

He that we last as Thurn and Taxis knew
Now recks no lord but the stiletto’s Thorn,
And Tacit lies the gold once-knotted horn.
No hallowed skein of stars can ward, I trow,
Who’s once been set his tryst with Trystero.

Related Characters: Randolph Driblette (speaker), Gennaro (speaker), Angelo, Niccolò
Related Symbols: The Tristero Muted Horn Symbol
Page Number: 58
Explanation and Analysis:

“You came to talk about the play,” he said. “Let me discourage you. It was written to entertain people. Like horror movies. It isn’t literature, it doesn’t mean anything. Wharfinger was no Shakespeare.”

“Who was he?” she said.

“Who was Shakespeare. It was a long time ago.”

Related Characters: Oedipa Maas (speaker), Randolph Driblette (speaker), Tony Jaguar, Richard Wharfinger, Angelo
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

Under the symbols she’d copied off the latrine wall of The Scope into her memo book, she wrote Shall I project a world?

Related Characters: Oedipa Maas, Randolph Driblette, Stanley Koteks
Related Symbols: The Tristero Muted Horn Symbol
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis: