They seemed held here, as if under some unconfided spell.
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"unconfided spell"
A spell that forces them to do things they otherwise would not do? As if they were merely characters at the mercy of some author's whim? Not only unable to break free but to even wish to break free, being that their motivations and actions are also controlled by this unknown auteur? I'd suggest more mundane reasons, like poverty or being orphans or possibly some form of community service stemming form an early life of pickpocketing and other urchinry, but Pynchon is the one who brought up spellcraft.
I do like the idea of a punishment though. Especially in the case of Randolph St. Cosmo who could possibly be one of those angels sent to work off some slight toward God by helping mankind out of one jam per week for twenty-four weeks, with summers off.
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