A Question
Andrew Dinn
andrew at cee.hw.ac.uk
Thu Aug 15 10:09:03 CDT 1996
Andrew Clarke Walser writes:
> Pynchonites --
> I have a question that has nothing to do with Pynchon -- or even,
> I think, with 20th-century literature.
> An acquaintance of mine once came across a list of activities --
> gardening, music, and so on -- that she remembers as "the Seven Arts" or
> "the Seven Graces." I mentioned the quadrivium and trivium, the three
> Graces, the nine Muses, and anything else I could think of, but none of
> these answers satisfied her. She needs to know the exact name of
> this list, its components, and its origin . . .
> Does this ring any bells with any of you? I told my acquaintance
> I had access to a group of frighteningly erudite individuals and (continue
> flattery until end of message) . . .
She might be thinking of the Seven Cardinal Virtues which go along
with the Seven Deadly Sins. I enclose an interesting post gleaned from
alt.postmodern some years back which gives an intersting account -
a-and it brings us via Gilligan's Island back onto topic.
Andrew Dinn
-----------
And though Earthliness forget you,
To the stilled Earth say: I flow.
To the rushing water speak: I am.
----- 8< -------- 8< -------- 8< -------- 8< -------- 8< -------- 8< ---
Gilligan's Island was a MORALITY PLAY in which each of the characters
symbolized one of the seven deadly sins or cardinal virtues, depending
on the episode:
Character Deadly Sin Cardinal Virtue
--------- ---------- ---------------
Gilligan Sloth Courage
The Skipper Gluttony Justice
Ginger Lust Hope
The Professor Pride Wisdom
Mr. Howell Avarice Temperance
Mrs. Howell Jealousy Charity
Mary Anne Anger Faith
Each episode dealt with one of the characters coming to terms with his
or her specific sin and virtue. Of course, I still can't analyze the
episode with the monkey and the plastic explosives in these terms, but
you must admit that this interpretation has a certain feeling of
"rightness" about it. That the women each symbolize one of the
Christian theological virtues while the men symbolize the Platonic
cardinal virtues is a subltlety that should not be left unmentioned.
Surely the show was a work of genius.
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