Fidel & Cuba

[Deng, Stephen]

It's what makes Pynchon's characters so interesting-this somewhat dialectic 
nature of will.  It reminds me of Katje in GR whose ostensible position as 
dominatrix over Pudding masks her underlying submission as a willing 
participant in Pointsman's own plans.


----------
From:  Greg Montalbano[SMTP:Greg.Montalbano at ucop.edu]
Sent:  Friday, April 11, 1997 2:12 PM
To:  pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject:  RE: Fidel & Cuba

Hmmm;  interesting.
I never read Frenesi quite that way -- saw her "powerful effect on those
around her" as more the action of a catalyst (something she shares with
Slothrop, and, to a lesser extent, Profane) than the result of conscious
intent.  She seemed to me to strongly represent the passiveness & will to
surrender to power that so many of Pynchon's characters display, rather 
than
the drive to amass power.  Her story could be read as that of one who
gradually but persistently LOSES power & control over her life & choices, 
in
direct contrast to the view of those whose lives she's touched (& fucked 
over).

This could start to shade over into the area of free will vs determinism 
in
the world of TRP.

>From: "Deng, Stephen" <sdeng at spss.com>
>Well, there's the obvious example of Frenesi Gates, who ascends to power
>through rebellion against her liberal upbringing, while appearing part of 
>that liberal movement, though it can be argued she was corrupt from the
>beginning.  It could also be argued that she never achieves power, though 
>she has a powerful effect on those around her.  I think she is one of
>Pynchon's most interesting characters, nevertheless, in her fascination
>with "the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing
>that dominates and exploits us." (Foucault in preface to Deleuze and
>Guattari's Anti-Oedipus)