The Crying of Lot 49

by

Thomas Pynchon

Wharfinger is the fictional 17th-century English playwright who wrote The Courier’s Tragedy. A kind of absurdist Shakespeare, Wharfinger may have known about the rivalry between Thurn and Taxis and Tristero, or this might have been added to The Courier’s Tragedy later by the Scurvhamites. His name admits of multiple interpretations, like “wharf-finger,” “war-finger,” and “Wahr-finger” (Wahr meaning “true” or “real” in German).

Richard Wharfinger Quotes in The Crying of Lot 49

The The Crying of Lot 49 quotes below are all either spoken by Richard Wharfinger or refer to Richard Wharfinger. 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

“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:
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The Crying of Lot 49 PDF

Richard Wharfinger Quotes in The Crying of Lot 49

The The Crying of Lot 49 quotes below are all either spoken by Richard Wharfinger or refer to Richard Wharfinger. 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

“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: