She hangs on the western wall...

[Daniel Torop]

>This is a belated response to MESCOLAR, who, on April 13 wrote:

>>          I just finished reading chapter 7 of V (she hangs on the
>>          western wall), and I have to say it was one of the most
>>          satisfying literary experiences I have ever had...the way
>>          everything pulled together at the end...It was just amazing.
>>           I'm working on Fausto's confessions right now.  Someone
>>          please tell me there is a light at the end of the tunnel for
>>          that chapter...I am having a bit of trouble getting through
>>          it.

Another belated response, I've been sort of lurking for a while now, and
am re-reading V (up to the epilogue) & so felt sympathy for MESCOLAR. 

>The Confessions of Fausto Maijstral is not one of the best parts of the
>book.  I used to groan inwardly upon approaching it during my annual V.
>re-read.  It seems like it could have been edited more tightly.  Fausto's
>various incarnations sometimes seem indistinguishable, especially Fausto
II
>and Fausto III, and here Pynchon is guilty of telling, not showing.

Yes, I agree, it's a point about tightening up, lack of distinction
between Fausto's personalities, however I love Fausto's (to me) mad lucid
brilliance about himself and his feeling of being trapped inside a
brilliant & poetically ambitious mind which due to accidents of language
or birth or setting is doomed never to fully understand itself as anything
but a specimen and never fully make itself clear.  Also will grant you
that introduction of the Maguffins of Stencil and V. seem less than
organic.  And his claim that he wrote the confession out of guilt over bad
priest's death seems like an unecessary justification for a beautiful
narrative, one which relates the quest for self identity & history to the
quest for a V. 

>The light at the end of the tunnel for you--if you haven't seen it
>already--is V. in Love.  After so much doubt and subterfuge, it's
>refreshing to have V. frankly identified.  V. really exists, is more than
>just "a remarkably scattered concept," is a real woman who loves, cries,
>grieves.  The first time I read the book I felt a whoosh of relief when I
>came to this chapter: OK, this book is not just stringing me along.  I
have
>never seen a satisfactory unpacking of this chapter, in all its
>psychosexual symbolism--hello, is Camille Paglia here?--and I'd be
curious
>to know your impressions.  Don't want to spoil things for you if you
>haven't reached that point yet, so let us know where you are.

>- --Jimmy
>  http://www.angelfire.com/oh/Insouciance/index.html

Here I respectfully (& perhaps embarassingly ignorantly) differ:  I found
this to be a slightly disappointing chapter.  In comparison to, for
example, the myriad of themes & ideas introduced in, say, Fausto's
Confessions, this seemed to play out a bit crudely some (interesting) 
tropes re sexual deviance, but being that I can't articulate them the
chapter is probably pretty smart after all.  But:  a) one change from V.
to GR is that in V. TRP seems to take reasonably famous cultural moments
and create a parallel fictional event whereas in GR he seems to use
cultural events whole-cloth in his greater narrative, is this true?  as
example this ballet cum riot seems awfully reminiscent of stories of Rite
of Spring first performance.  b) if I had the book with me I would cite
Fausto's passage about the child & mother and differentiation and try to
point out that V. in Love is an elaboration on that passage. 

P.S.  Re-reading the subject of this thread I realize I have no idea why
the "She hangs on the western wall" chapter is entitled that.