V. (Ch 3) Impersonations and Dreams

[jbor]

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>From: "Paul Mackin" <paul.mackin at verizon.net>
>To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>Subject: Re: V. (Ch 3) Impersonations and Dreams
>Date: Thu, Dec 7, 2000, 11:29 PM
>
>> One other thing about this section. A majority of the narrators in the
>> chapter whom Stencil impersonates are European immigrants or refugees,
>> rather than indigenous: P. Aeuil, Max, Waldetar, Hanne etc. But I don't
>> think that this means that they are simply "colonialists" in the same way
>> that the spies and tourists they (ob)serve are. There is a bit of
>> cross-cultural empathy going on (a multicultural rather than
> assimilationist
>> paradigm I think), and which Pynchon is playing around with. A good
> example
>> of this is when Portuguese-born Waldetar recalls joking around with his
>> young wife, Nita, in respect of Muslim (or Hebrew, is it?) versus
> Christian
>> customs and mores, espousing the potential benefit (wisdom?) of the
>> Solomonic tradition of "One man, several wives." (79.23) Nita's laughing
>> rebuke actually sounds stereotypically Jewish to my ear: "Great king ...
>> who? One peasant girl you can't even support."
>
> Yes, the European privilege would not carry over to those melted (or is it
> melded) into the local blue collar world.  Also, Walditar was a Sephardi, so
> your ear may not decieve you--assuming Sephardic Jews have similarity in
> household patter to the Eastern European with which we (Americans at least)
> are stereotypically familiar. Fiddler on the Roof and such.

Yes, except it is Nita speaking, and I assumed she was a local and thus
Arabic/Muslim. Perhaps she is putting on the Fran Drescher voice mockingly
then. Even if so, it's a gentle jibe. There seems to be real affection
between she and Waldetar.

Not fond of the melting pot/melding analogies myself, as they are
notoriously the catchcries of assimilation. The "tossed salad" is the
metaphor du jour of multiculturalism, but I'm not sure that food imagery is
particularly appropriate at all in the context!

best