GRGR(31) - The Four F's (Fantastic Four)

[David Morris]

>From: John Peacock
>
>And they are related to the four elements: Thing = Earth (with his stony 
>appearance); Invisible Woman = Air; Human Torch = Fire and
>Mr Fantastic = Water.
>
>Just a thought.
>

Obviously I like your thinking. I'll continue, admitting I'm riffing...

Related to the thought about the FF's forming a kind of mandala (Slothrop v. 
M.Mrytle, Max v. Marcel), I've also been thinking about the Four as being 
symbolic of the axis mundi (We know that the four points have symbolic use 
throughout GR).

Slothrop = West = Male
Myrtle = East = Female
Max = South = Organic
Marcel = North = Synthetic

Trying to take these analogies w/in the text even further, some of the 
compass points seem associated w/ specific "real" characters in GR:

There's the "Westwardman," Slothrop's American heritage (although his family 
resists that direction, and thus dissipates).  Tchitcherine also exhibits 
the characteristics of the "Westwardman" with his string of "whappo's."

If the East is female, Katje has to be our girl.  The only way I see her as 
such is as a representative of the "European," in all its Old-World 
sophisticated decadence.  The East would relly be the Orient, long 
considered feminine, and decadent from the western perspective.  Sombody 
throw me a line.  I think I'm slipping here...

The South is obvious, Enzian and the Herero, the outhouse of the European.  
The European, however, looking like the North (and Death) viewed from 
southern eyes.

The North, white realm of Death, ruled by Blicero through the blood of his 
Son, Gottfried.

At a certain level the FF might be seen as the components of the 
disintegrating Slothrop.  But this presents us with a problem:  There should 
be a fifth.  Somebody has to occupy the center, and that SHOULD be Slothrop. 
  If Slothrop is breaking into the points of a mandala, he should no longer 
be a persona in this group....

I'll stop now.
David Morris
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