Classic quest

[bruce sublett]

Keith W. wrote:
>In response to what Divid has said re: the quest... I have trouble looking
>at Slothrop's quest as "classic", I think in many ways it is a response to
>the classic quest and often looks more like an anti-quest.  Also, I have
>equaql trouble with saying that Slothrop is "embarking", or for that matter
>using much of any language that attributes much agency to Slothrop at this
>early point in the novel.

All true, which makes it securely part of classic quest literature.  I link
Slothrop very directly to Wolfram's Parsival as the holy fool whose quest is
directed from the outside in order that he may gain the wisdom to achieve
the grail.  Fifteen years down the road from my MA thesis on the topic, I've
lost touch with the details, but GR is readable end to end as a medieval
Grail quest.  If this topic opens up, I'll dig into the archives and find my
research notes.

BS