MDMD(8) Christ's true Pity

[davemarc]

> From: Christine Karatnytsky <christinekaratnytsky at juno.com>

> More than any
> biblical allusion, for me Learned recalls the famous story of the saint
> Yudhisthira in the Mahabharata.
> 
> Briefly (it'd better be):  During their pilgrimage to the Himalayas, the
> queen Draupadi and her bothers the Pandavas die, being insufficiently
> pure to enter the abode of God in their human bodies.  Yudhisthira, the
> royal saint, journeys on, accompanied by his faithful dog.  When he
> arrives at heaven, he is turned away by Indra, the king of the gods, who
> tells him that the dog is not allowed to enter.   Yudhisthira and Indra
> argue, as the former will not abandon *any* creature which loves, trusts
> and relies upon him.  Both Yudhisthira and the dog are finally admitted
> into heaven, upon which the dog is revealed as Dharma himself.  (Do I
> remember this correctly?) 

Good question.  I think the L.E.D. is a lot like that darn dog, so it's
probably a good idea to try to hammer out the details of the older story. 
Since my copy was last seen in the hands of my dear black-belted Quaker
swordswoman friend Sue (if I ask for it back one more time I may have to
get a new set of teeth...), I'm relying largely on memory here, too.  So
here goes:

1)  Purity may not have anything to do with the deaths of Draupadi and
Yudhishthira's brothers.  They just died off during that death march in the
mountains.

2)  I'm not familiar with Y being "the royal saint."  He is definitely the
leader of the Pandava family--and a born sucker when it comes to games of
chance.  

3)  The dog is faithful in its way, but it's not as if it's the family dog.
 It joins up with Y during the mountain journey.  It's a good companion--in
this sense, very much like the L.E.D.

4)  Y is told that he is allowed to enter the abode of the gods, but he
refuses when he learns that the dog will have to remain outside.  When it's
clear that Y is firm in his resolve, it's revealed that the dog is ???? (Is
it Dharma?  I've got a book that says the mutt's the god of justice, for
what it's worth) and both enter.
> 
> I think Learned is Dharma.  Remember page 756 (spoiler alert, for any who
> need it), when M&D encounter a "Norfolk Terrier, of memorable
> Appearance," and  Meg Bland asks:
> 
> "What' ll his name be?"
> 
> "Fang," says Mason.
> 
> "Learned," says Dixon.
> 
> The Dog ignores both, as if his true Name is one they must guess.
> 
> 
> This would be the name of God, I'd say.  At the end of this chapter,
> Learned, the true prophet, reveals, "The next time you are together, so
> shall I be with you."  This is a clear reference to their impending
> deaths, as well as to the afterlife. 

While I agree that there's a clear allusion to the afterlife, I think that
P still keeps things ambiguous.  In the Mahabharata, we follow the mutt
into the abode of the gods.  In M&D, we're left to wonder.
> 
> There are many fascinating points of comparison between Lawrence and
> Pynchon--a certain Luddism and a disdain for commerce, among other
> things.  Recall this conversation between Rupert Birkin and Ursula
> Brangwen....

I definitely see congruities between the endings of Women in Love and M&D. 
Come to think of it, there are even some similarities between their
beginnings.  Too bad P cut the rabbit wrestling out of the final version of
M&D.

davemarc