Pynchon's Women

[Henry D. Musikar]

Do we require our best writers from one economic class to give 
characters from other classes as fully dimensional a treatment as 
their own? Our younger writers, their elders? Women, their male 
characters? You are not me. How can you "flesh me out."

Pynchon's books (which resemble and contain much pop culture, 
particularly movies) are not Pynchon (duh). The characters in the movies that 
Pynchon's books reference are often movie characters are often 
"two-dimensional," but what a beautiful two-dimensions. 

By the way, are Pynchon's male characters all that substantial, or 
...

DCNY - 30 hours, woowee!

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> Date:          Thu, 14 Nov 1996 14:27:59 -0600
> From:          bdm at storz.com (Brian D. McCary)
> To:            pynchon-l at waste.org
> Subject:       Pynchon's Women

> Jean comments, in referance to Jessica
> 
> >"...she'll end up with Beaver because that's what she, celluloid femme
> >with no real choice, is expected to do....she is essentially passive.
> >As are all the women in the book, even Katje."
> 
> And, I would add, all of the women in Pynchon's work through GR.  If
> not passive, at least two dimensional.  I am probably in a minority
> here, but I always thought his ability to create interesting or
> believable female characters was, um, limited.  Yes, I include OM and V
> in that.  I remember thinking, while reading Vineland, that he must
> have finally met some women who forced him to take them seriously in
> the 14 years between GR and it, because the female characters seemed
> somewhat more substantial.
> 
> brian
> 
>