Self-Indulgence

[LARSSON at VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU]

Jeff writes:
"GR, well, it's great but irritating, suffering from the same
self-indulgence that plagues so much of Joyce's work, though perhaps
redeemed by its broader social themes, which must be considered in the
context of the age in which he wrote it.  I still haven't made up my mind."

This is a question that's often bothered me:  What do you mean by "self-
indulgence"?  It's a term that's often used to dismiss writers who stray
from mainstream expectations (as well as writers who seem to be horribly
off-course).  But if it refers to a certain degree of excess in style or
content, I can think of few great writers who are not "self-indulgent" in
some respect--James and Faulkner run off at the mouth, Hemingway wallows in
self-pity, Melville is all over the map, Hawthorne uses archaic language,
etc., etc.  I do find it puzzling that you find Joyce--one of the most 
careful and meticulous literary artisans of all time--to be "self-indulgent."

That doesn't mean that I respond equally to all of the writers above.  I've
never really warmed to Joyce.  And I love the verbal effulgence of James,
Samuel Delany's DAHLGREN and GR that prompts friends, colleagues and critics
alike (though not unanimously) to label such works "unreadable."

Maybe here's a hint.  For my own purposes, I find later Pynchon to be far
more "readable" than the early stuff (including V.) on the basis on a new
lyricism that enters TRP's prose with GR.  With GR, he became, like James,
a master of the comma.  Read in phrases, go with the flow of the language
and trust what he has to say about voice in the intro. to SLOW LEARNER.  Even
though I'd agree that VINELAND has its flaws, there are parts that are as
good as some of the best in GR.

--Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN