cross-eyed Sabastian and headless Mary

[Terrance]

David Morris wrote:
> 
> The RC Church has a full and long history of assimilation of pagan rituals
> and god(ess')s (Mary again being the prime example) into its tent.
> Resistance is futile.  Why resist when you can have the same fun you've
> always had?  All we gotta do is change some names and costumes...


I'm not sure we can put it in simple terms Otto, but I think
we can make sense of this. 

May I suggest chapter 26 of Graves' *White Goddess* as a
good complimentary summary to both of your comments here. As
to the
family, Catholic & Springfield, but in GR we have quite
another story. 
William's tale is paradoxical (btw, I don't think we can
quote Cherrycoke as, don't ask me what this term means,  a
"reliable narrator",  Cherrycoke is ONLY a voice, yarn
spinner keeping warm, entertaining the kids, a speaker
of the poem if you will, and does not represent faithfully
TRP's views, how's that? ), it includes Newtonian physics,
capitalism (see Education of Henry Adams Education: A Study
of Twentieth Century Multiplicity--the subtitle is very
important to Pynchon, especially XXI, XXII, XXV, XXXIII,
XXXIV,). 


http://www.butlerart.com/pc_book/pages/john_la_farge_1835.htm