pynchon's misogyny

[Greg Montalbano]

Indeed.  This is what the ability to READ A NOVEL is all about ... something
that the folks who want to ban (for example) HUCK FINN from school libraries
because it's "racism is detrimental to the students' self-esteem" completely
fail to understand.



>Date: 	Thu, 31 Oct 1996 17:52:19 GMT
>X-Sender: chstolz at canuck.com
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>From: Chris Stolz <chstolz at canuck.com>
>Subject: Re: pynchon's misogyny
>Sender: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org
>
>        I would like to agree with the criticism of Kaeppler's work
>regarding Pynchon's misogyny.  Pynchon's use of pronography(and depictions
>of sex in general) have a lot more to do with illustrations of perversions
>of power (Blicero and Katja), with dehumanisation (V. in Paris and South
>Africa) and with parody of Hollywood-stupid ideas about romance (Roger and
>Jess).
>
>        This brings up an interesting point about "issue" books of literary
>(or film) criticism:  when a writer decides to look at an issue, such as
>representation of women or deconstruction-theory, in several works, what
>usually happens is that the writer simply uses the texts in question to say
>what s/he wants to say.  This is what disfigures Kaeppler's book, and also
>ruins Mchoul and Wills' book on Pynchon/Derrida.  
>
>        Most academic writers who do this kind of thing ignore the detailed,
>historically contextual criticism which reall;y gets iunto what a work is.
>Regarding Pynchon, close readings-- the dirty work of looking at allusions,
>context and detail-- reveals texts which are extraordinarily critical of
>almost everything that the author's cultural origins stand for (oppression
>of various non-white, non-male "others," mechanisation of non-mechanical
>things and ideas, narcissism of Americans and colonial powers, etc). 
>
>
>chris stolz
>
>internet:  chstolz at canuck.com
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>
>"As your attorney, I advise you to take L.S.D."
>
>					_Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_
>
>
>
  Greg