We first see women (with the exception of Oedipa) being the reliable, responsible ones early in the novel; however, it's very subtle. "The trip out was uneventful except for two or three collisions the Paranoids almost had owing to Serge, the driver, not being able to see through his hair. He was persuaded to hand over the wheel to one of the girls. (40)" Here we see a woman, other than Oedipa, take control even if it's just by taking the wheel of the Paranoid's convertible. It's safe to assume that the girl that replaces Serge is his girlfriend, who later runs away with Metzger. By doing so, she may be presenting herself as an "Oedipa in training." - a woman who has a nasty habit of searching for truth in the wrong places.
The next major encounter Oedipa has with another woman occurs when she visits Dr. Hilarius while he's having a meltdown. The nurse, Helga Blamm, responds to the situation logically, unlike Oedipa who wishes to see Dr. Hilarius. In this scene, we also see how oblivious Oedipa is. Helga says, "'Too many nutty broads, that's what did it. Kinneret is full of nothing but. He couldn't cope. (109)" Oedipa replies, "Maybe I could find out what it is. Maybe I'd be less of a threat for him. (109)" Obviously Helga isn't in a position of power like Serge's girlfriend but at least she's able to recognize the chaotic environment she live in.
Lastly, the woman that seems most sane in the book is Emory Bortz's wife Grace. Grace's sanity and power is drawn from her humor. However, she's not funny like Oedipa is funny. Oedipa is fun to laugh at. Grace is fun to laugh with - "'Maxine, why don't you throw that at your brother, he's more mobile than I am...Oh, God. Have you ever met an infanticide? Come on over, it may be your only chance. (122)" It's a dark, gruesome joke, yes, but it was constructed by Grace herself. A woman like Oedipa wouldn't be clever enough to think of something like that.
It seems that Pynchon's goal with including these women was to show how truly strange Oedipa is. Like we agreed in class, I think her journey is a great "what not to do story" and these other woman, particularly Grace Bortz, are included to make that even more obvious.
I think these representations of other women in the novel would make for a fabulous paper on Pynchon's argument re: gender. You indicate here that it's not all women - just Oedipa - so it would be critical to determine what, exactly, she represents.
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