why I am not a Hindoo

[Thomas Eckhardt]

David answered to the Hammer:

> I take it you posit an earth-mother based RCism is the pure kind that
> you feel Pynchon promotes here in V.

I guess the relevant quote was:

> > You tell me, anyone show me where I am wrong on this. Please, I would love to
> here anyone talk about this. It's as clear as bell, it's right in the novel.
> Show me how it is deconstructed. This living earth, this womb of rock, this
> Virgin Mary, Mara, marks a radical shift from P's short fiction (where btw, the
> Catholic allusions are so many and so transparent), a shift that once made,
> drives all of his works.

Indeed, it seems impossible to reconcile the concept of an earth-mother or a womb
of rock with the Virgin Mary within the framework of orthodox Roman Catholic
belief. The creator in orthodox Christianity is in heaven, which is above the
sphere of man and defined as the place of the presence of God, the earth-mother
would have her residence below the sphere of man in a place which in Christian
belief is traditionally identified with the seat of demonic forces. In short: The
notion of an Earth Mother is fundamentally opposed to orthodox Christian belief. If
Pynchon indeed associates the Virgin Mary with an earth goddess (could you provide
some textual evidence for a connection between the two, please?) this could imply
that the text is grounded in a syncretistic or mythical world-view. What it
certainly would not imply is that the text is grounded in straightforward Roman
Catholic belief. The mystics are of interest here, yes, but Meister Eckhart and
Jakob Boehme to my knowledge were never part of the mainstream of Christianity.

Thomas