She hangs on the western wall...

[doktor at primenet.com]

Daniel Torop <daniel.torop at yale.edu> writes, inter alia:

>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.

The literal answer (p. 148, Bantam) refers to where the Birth of Venus is
hung at the Uffizi:

        "Signor Mantissa pointed to the lower left-hand corner.  'The Sala
di Lorenzo Monaco,' he said.  'Here, you see.  I have already had a key
made for the main entrance.  Three main corridors: east, west, and a short
one on the south connecting them.  From the west corridor, number three, we
enter a smaller one here, marked 'Ritratti diversi.'  At the end, on the
right, is a single entrance to the gallery.  She hangs on the western
wall.'"

Does anyone know if this really is/was where the painting was displayed?
Beyond that, Pynchon may be playing with the idea of The Birth of Venus is
more than just a painting, it's an icon of "western" culture.  And
Mantissa, representative of the old world run to decadence and bathos, and
The Gaucho, representative of New World wildness and exotica, are planning
to steal it ....

Probably some theological implications here too that I'm not smart enough
to see.  Anyone?

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