dixon's action (was: VV the WSC &c)

[jbor]

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>From: lorentzen-nicklaus at t-online.de (lorentzen-nicklaus)
>

>
>    but that's all there is left. for each and every one of - us. dixon's
action
>    is, imo, a crucial scene in the universe of trp. a thoureauian act of
>    resistance. helpless, isolated, effective only in the short run. but where
>    should be the alternatives? the "totally socialized society" (adorno)
starts
>    to emerge around 1750 and it is already beyond the point of no return in
>    1850. the historian reinhard koselleck calls this period, we learn a lot
>    about in m&d, the "saddle time". it is too late ... in such a situation
>    dixon's action can be read as a paradigmatic fulfillment of the often
quoted
>    "keep cool but care!" saying. i really like dixon quite a lot ...

Yes I agree with these sentiments and that it is a crucial scene in the
novel but in terms of whether it actually happened in the way it is being
told, or at all, or what Dixon's actual motivations were is quite
deliberately made ambiguous in the narrative -- and this is even before
considering the question of the futility or otherwise of such a gesture in
the historical context. It is certainly something which *should have*
happened (could have, might have etc), the text seems to be urging, even if
it didn't *actually* happen (or, happen in that way).

best