V.V. (18) V. in Love

[jbor]

>From: <DMillison at ftmg.net>

I believe you'll find that what was offered was a *definition* (for example,
what one might find in a *dictionary*). An "interpretation" is something
quite separate.

This is what was written:

> Religion in Pynchon, we might define it as:
>
>  a totalizing commitment to a
> particular construct of ultimate reality, including
> the nature of humanity, the significance of history,
> and the governance of the cosmos; not ruling out of course
> the existence of spiritual forces both malign and
> benevolent.
>
> Will this work?

Neither textual interpretation nor accurate *evidence* has been presented to
support this *definition*. (Again, you might like to consult a dictionary if
you are having trouble with any of these terms.)

best


----------

>

> Terrance:
>> Religion in Pynchon, we might define it as: [snip]
>
> "jbor":
> Well, no, of course not, for there is absolutely no evidence for this
> definition of Pynchon's work or worldview to be found in any of his texts.
>
> Fact is, Pynchon provides more than enough "evidence" (in the form of
> material in P's texts directly related to religion, including Catholocism)
> to sustain just about any kind of interpretation a critic could care to put
> forward about Pynchon's treatment of religion, including what Terrance
> proposes; whether said intepretation might hold water or not is another
> story.
>
> Approaching 100 percent of any literary interpetation will not be found
> inside the text being interpreted (naturally, the nature of literary
> interpretation being to take off from this or that element of the text and
> spinning out some interpretation therefrom), so one way to stop or sidetrack
> discussion of any particular intepretation is this red herring, which we've
> seen "jbor" throw quite a few times into the Pynchon-L discussion. Instead
> of exploring the issues that such a definition might lead into and
> continuing the conversation, slam the door shut with this sort of blanket --
> and erroneous -- denial.