Oedipa views herself as the helpless Rapunzel in the tower, trapped with no method of ever getting down. Perhaps this was why she married Mucho, even though there didn’t seem to be much attraction between the two of them. This would also explain the hastiness in Oedipa’s actions to rush into an affair with Metzger. Oedipa is the typical 1960’s common household wife: dependent on her husband, because of an insecurity of her fears of not being able to find more meaning to the world. In the painting “Bordando el Manto Terrestre”, it painted the world that Oedipa lived in. These “frail girls” spent their entire lives in that tower, which resembles the helpless Oedipa who feels trapped within her own world.
When Oedipa first saw that painting, she cried. It was because she saw the truth in it. There is no escaping the world. The tapestry embroidered by the frail girls started from the tower, which could be represented as Oedipa’s own personal mind. The world is how YOU (or Oedipa) perceive it. It all starts from the mind, and that outlook will extend outward into the world.
The reason why Oedipa feels lonely and desolate in her world is because in her mind she is also lonely and desolate. When she dreams of a knight coming to rescue her from her tower, it is because she wants to get rid of her solitude. However, “Bordando el Manto Terrestre” shows her that she will never be able to. This is why Oedipa sets herself up for disappointment when she finds that men and love can not provide for her mental wellness. The sad thing is even though this problem was pointed out to her since the beginning of the novel, by the end of the novel, she STILL has not figured out how to become fulfilled in her life (by perceiving it so, and not depending on others).
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