The reader trap of jailbait

[Chris Stolz]

The incredible lurking Krafft!! Long time no post, kemosabe.

I have to agree with JMKrafft about Bianca.  It's very tempting
to look at the many young people in Pynchon novels (Bianca, the
Maltese kids in _V._, Gottfried, the Melanie scenes near the end
of _V._etc.) as simple fetish-focusses
for the likes of Slothrop and Blicero or as victims.  The reality
is usually a lot more complex.  Bianca, for one, has an active
hand in seducing Slothrop (and her own reasons for doing so), and
part of the power of some of Pynchon's under-age sex scenes has
to do with his general aim of showing us people who are at once
victims of and complicit in things which degrade themselves or
others.  

-- 
chris stolz		16 oakview pl. sw calgary ab canada t2v-3z9
cstolz at acs.ucalgary.ca	(403) 281-6794


	Digression One:  Ulrich recalled a similar experience dating
from his army days.  The squadron rides in double file, and "passing 
on orders" is the drill; each man in turn whispers the given order to
next man.  So if the order given up fron is "Sergeant Major move to 
the head of the column," it comes out the other end "Eight troopers
to be shot at once," or something like that.  And this is just how 
world history is made.

			Robert Musil, _The Man Without Qualities_