GRGR(4)

[ckaratnytsky at nypl.org]

     Chris plays with Paul and Robert E. Spangenthal grapples with Jess:
     
     >I am still grappling with the role that Jessica plays in all of this. 
     >Does she understand the Monte Carlo fallacy? She seems to achieved a  
     >certain state of grace even though it appears she does not. Mexico 
     >seems to understand, however, that Jessica is a creation of the war; 
     >she will go back to Beaver. Does Mexico despair that his relationship 
     >with her is so ephemeral?
     
     I am wondering about Jess, too, but I would say that Roger is as much 
     a creation of the war as she is, as their relationship is.  After all, 
     Roger chooses to become involved with Jess, knowing that she already 
     has Beaver on the back burner.  (Or, more precisely, he presumably 
     finds this out once the cute meet develops into something more 
     serious.)  I think that whatever "despair" exists regarding the 
     relationship is *shared* by Roger and Jess -- in terms of lamenting 
     precious time not spent together, stolen moments too brief, etc.  At 
     this point in the novel, I think it is meant to be understood, by 
     Roger as well as the reader, that the Roger/Jess relationship is de 
     facto.  It's the *Beaver* who's the interloper at this point.  The 
     touch is very light in this scene, though, and the triangle is even 
     given a brief interlude in the comic scenario of the episode:
     
     Jess mutters, "'I've lost my mind.  I ought to be cuddling someplace 
     with Beaver this very minute, watching him light up his Pipe, and here 
     instead I'm with this *gillie* or something, this spiritualist, 
     statistician, what *are* you anyway-- "
     
     'Cuddling?'  Roger has a tendency to scream. '*Cuddling*?' "  (All 
     emphasis TRP.  Sorry, I haven't made up my GR card tick thingy yet, as 
     per Andrew, but this passage is on page 43.)
     
     Anyway, I don't want to overemphasize the light touch of this scene 
     because, surely, there *is* a hint of the darker things to come and, 
     in general, there *is* a strong mood of wistfulness associated with 
     these two, but -- the shock and loss that Roger experiences later is 
     made all the more poignant because of certain...assumptions (for lack 
     of a better word) he makes now.
     
     It may be sympathetic defensiveness on my part, but I would disagree 
     with Andrew's assessment of Jess as "cruel."  The more I think about 
     what appears to be the strange dichotomy in this character, the more 
     human she becomes to me.
     
     Chris