Bainca as Shadowchild (2)

[Charles_Sligh at BAYLOR.EDU]

As RedBug and Krafft and Duyfhuizen point out, date her from her conception in 
_Alpdrucken_.  

Don't worry--it's tricky. Just consider the _process_ as it unfolds. One of the 
points seems to be that we (perhaps male readers, perhaps not) so easily fall 
into Slothrop's "splendid weakness" for "young stuff"--live and learn.

Once again, see:  Bernard Duyfhuizen has done one of the best explorations of 
"picturing" Bianca.  His essay is called "A Suspension Forever at the Hinge of 
Doubt:  The Reader-Trap of Bianca in _GR_."  Duyfhuizen examines the "age" 
problem, "fetishization," and gendered reading. Fine piece of writing/reading.

This can be accessed over the internet:  go to _Postmodern Culture_ at UVA--this 
essay appeared in the Sept. 1991 issue.

I especially send this out to DYB as a parting "gift"--come back and talk 
anytime--if you choose, you could be "conditionally" "'here'" but "once or twice 
removed"!!  A ghost on the list--already a legend.

(Where the hell have my posts gone???--I am not receiving them for 5-6 hours 
this server (Baylor) must be the slowest ever.  Maybe the Ministry of 
Misinformation is checking them line-by-line.)


On Thu, 06 Mar 1997 11:18:37 -0500 (EST) vjvaro at erie.net (Joe Varo) wrote:

>On Thu, 6 Mar 1997, RedBug wrote:
>
>> As John Krafft pointed out to me a long time ago, Bianca is 16 or 17.
>> Slothrop just *thinks* (*hopes*) she's 11 or 12.
>>
>> [textual evidence for the above snipped]
>
>In light of this, all I can say is, "I stand corrected".
>
>Is there anything in the text which pins down the age of Geli Tripping?
>The only thing I can find is that she's "very young" (p 290).
>
>Is Slothrop a pedophile or a pedophile-wannabe?
>
>Joe
>
>
>