VV(5) - Underwater Themes

[Terrance]

David Morris wrote:
> 
> 2.  Godolphin:  I am about to search this name for significance, but does
> the fact that it includes the word "dolphin" have any import?  I know there
> are many who think Pynchon only plays with his readers in his choice of
> names.  But don't forget Porpentine.  "Porpentine" seems almost and
> adjectival application of the noun "porpoise."
> 
> 3.  Porpentine: see above.

Yes,  and there is that story about the dead being wafted to
shore by god's dolphins and the story of the porcupine in
the cave and when the wind blows cold they move close to
keep warm, but they prick one another and move apart, grow
cold and so on, the dance of love and death. Porpentine is
not in the AHD, but it is probably in the OED or certainly
in a Concordance of Shakespeare.