V.V. (17) - Chapter 13.I&II - SOS #2

[jbor]

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>From: David Morris <fqmorris at yahoo.com>
>

> Stencil then lures Benny into a comic crime and into a passage to Malta.

There's something a little ominous also when Benny says "I've always wanted
to be buried at sea." (382.11) The narrator remarks wryly: "Had Stencil seen
the coupling in that associative train he would have gathered heart of
grace, surely." I've never heard that expression "heart of grace" before and
I'm not altogether sure what it means in the context. Obviously Benny,
pessimistic as ever, glibly presages that the inanimate world (i.e. the
ship, the sea) will screw him over; but why would Stencil gather "heart of
grace" from this premonition if he'd taken note of it? Is Stencil's quest a
death-wish?

> Profane goes home to Mom (and Pop, but who cares about him). "Profane was sure
> that the world would be worse off without Mothers like that."  "That?"
> Shouldn't he be saying "his?"  This pronoun usage hints at the possibility
that
> this entire sub-chapter is a flight Profane's idealistic imagination, not a
> literal visit to Benny's home.  "They'd know he'd been there."

I don't think the pronoun is wrong at all. If anything Pynchon is here
toying with the stereotypical Italian mama's "compulsion to feed" (379). And
if you've ever been in an Italian household it's one stereotype that runs
pretty true: "Eat ... eat ... everybody eat!" etc

> "Keep Cool But Care."  "It's a watchword, Profane, for your side of the
> morning."

Yes, figuring several times in the novel, it's pretty much exactly what the
definition you provided says, "a guiding principle" espoused and affirmed by
the novel.

best