Tangent: Cause and effect

[Andrew Dinn]

Penny Padgett writes:

> The recent musings on the righteousness of Major Marvy's fate
> reminded me of a passage in _GR_ ...

By the way, while we are still tangentially connected to the MM
thread...

Irrespective of the justice of Marvy's castration nobody mentioned
anything about it's significance. It seems fairly clear to me that TRP
inlcuded various old myths in GR and the castration of MM places him
in the middle of the ritual sacrifice as a surrogate for the king
(Slothrop) who was traditionally allowed to have his way with the
priestesses then castrated before being killed. Which, of course,
makes the psychiatrists who invoke the act both the priests of the sun
god Apollo (the sacrifice was to ensure the sun's return) cum
priestesses of the sow-goddess (hence the pig costume) of the Goddess
or, alternatively, the Maenads who tore Orpheus to pieces (perhaps I
should say disassembled him).


Andrew Dinn
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And though Earthliness forget you,
To the stilled Earth say:  I flow.
To the rushing water speak:  I am.