Gnostic Pynchon and the Cartels

[Terrance F. Flaherty]

David Morris wrote:
> 
> This is very good stuff.  I've not read Eddin's GP, but what he says here is
> a very clear analysis of what is probably the most prominent theme in GR.
> 
> David Morris

David, I think you would really love this book, not that you
need to read it. Your observations and comments often agree
with Eddins and I think reading his book would supplement,
augment, your already very insightful reading of GR. Me, I
need all the help I can get, in fact I needed a lot of help
reading Eddins. I can't quite say if it is his innovative
writing style, at time convoluted, at times needlessly
abstruse, or the subject matter that was so baffling at
times to this obtuse schlemiel, but I have read his book
twice now and this particular chapter on GR a few times. I
don't like to spend too much time reading criticism, as I
believe the best "criticism" to read for GR is Pynchon's
other books and prose and of course the grand tradition he
explodes into and away from. You can read the GR chapter,
"Orphic contra Gnostic: Religious Conflict in Gravity's
Rainbow,"  in Modern Language Quarterly 45 (June, 1984}:
163-190. I remembered the pages Kai. Though I suggest
reading the book, some 160 odd pages. I needed to keep my
dictionary open and read also from Hans Jonas, Eric
Voegelin, and Rilke. 


> >
> >Eddins GP.111
> >Out of this dance of parodic opposites (GP.109 GR is a
> >daunting intricate web of reciprocities, ironic
> >correspondences, inversions and unexpected doubleings-ie V-1
> >and V-2, Outside Inside, Pointy, Spectro GR.144) rises the
> >basic concept of GR, the religious dialectic that structures
> >the novel. It is marked by mystical and supernatural
> >manifestations on both sides, by the presence of fanatical
> >devotees and by the drive for nothing less than metaphysical
> >dominance
.the right to define ultimate reality and to
> >decide what the individuals relation to this reality is to
> >be.

To help me understand these Parodic opposites, I also had
help from Charles Hollander's work on Mennippean Satire and
lots of other matters, and from Kharpertain's "A Hand to
Turn the Time: The Menippean Satires of Thomas Pynchon," and
both of these scholars make judicious use of Edward
Mendelson's work and Frye's "Anatomy of Criticism."

Now some folks prefer to limit their reading from these
sources, and indeed this is my inclination as well, but I
find that I need the help with GR in particular, and of
course there is nothing like the P-L guys to really keep you
honest. One can, and I suppose people do read Joyce's Wake
all on their own, but I needed help with that one too, and
with others: Eliot, Blake, Milton, made little sense to me
without guidance. I have been very fortunate to study under
some brilliant scholars,and these internet lists are a big
help, if only to help one find the really good stuff that is
available. 

TF