GRGR(6) - section 8 (#3)

[Terrance F. Flaherty]

Paul Mackin wrote:

> On Wed, 28 Jul 1999, Terrance F. Flaherty wrote:
>
> > Weisenburger (though I think his GRC a great companion)  is dead wrong. There
> > are no proleptic and analeptic jump cuts. Pynchon follows his mentor
> > Melville--and specifically, Melville's "The Confidence Man." Pynchon can count
> > and so can Melville. April fools. Here comes the rocket or chamber pot.
>
> Well, in a way, analepsis and prolepsis are only a convenience (not to
> say a crutch or crutchfield), to help us poor neurologically deficient
> mortals in securing  some foothold  in a multi-dimensionally undefined
> p-universe. In the end, time judgements are largely irrelevant.
>
>                         P.

As I said Weisenburger's Companion is great. Fowler's is great too. Weisenburger
page 11:

"The literary precursors of this design, at least those that come directly to mind,
are Joyce's Ulysses and Melville's great satire, The Confidence Man. Both involve
cyclical plots unfolding over exactly three- fourths of a solar day. Gravitys
Rainbow unfolds over nine months, three-fourths of a solar year. And like Melville,
Pynchon sets the decisive action of his book, the firing of the rocket 00000, on
easter/April Fool's. As in the Confidence Man, this one detail hopelessly
equivocates any theme of salvation."

The one detail that Weisenburger says "hopelessly equivocates any theme of
salvation" is Melville's coffin of MD become chamber pot at the end of Confidence
Man.
We now have the benefit of reading GR with Weisenburger, Fowler and additional
scholarship, not available to Weisenburger and Fowler. Weisenburger's convenience is
a misreading. He attempt to account for what he deems to be Pynchon's errors and
mistakes, while at the same time noting Pynchon's near obsession for accurate and
minute detail. If Pynchon is following Joyce and Melville and I think he is, his
universe is not undefined.

tf