MDMD(5): Dreams and Boundaries

[John Bailey]

>From: Michel Ryckx <michel.ryckx at freebel.net>


>
>Part of the answer may be the setting of a (chapter in the) novel.  An
>L.E.D. in Plymouth somehow does not make as much sense as the story of
>the Malay Dagger and forces us to discuss it.  But here, at the Cape,
>where nothing is what it seems, it is OK that we are told the story of a
>Khoi woman; that a krees is being offered to Death:
>
>"Silently, the bow'd Figure throws it on the Ground to one side [. . .]
>  When he wakes, there it is, [. . .] " (71-72)

Well, I'd say this could be a problem with ourselves. Why is the magical OK 
in far off lands (it might not be far off to some here) whilst it's harder 
to accept in a big city like London? I guess we (I) imagine Cape Town as an 
'exotic' place where anything is possible, as compared to London. I think 
this is at least the reaction that our pantalooned pair have, and Pynchon 
goes to pains to show that the Cape is not just a place of fantasy (no more 
than anywhere else, at least)..it's a place of slavery, abuses of power, 
games and of course seige. I agree with you completely about the siege 
stuff, Michel, by the way. There are seiges of sorts throughout P's novels 
(V.s natural state is the state of seige, if I remember) and you can relate 
that to the various hothouse scenarios as well. Difference here might be 
that the 'outside' which must continuously fought off is the water, the 
waves...I haven't really thought about the water much but I guess it's a 
pretty potent theme in M&D. Also I recall thinking that the wind, especially 
on St Helena, is a very important part of this novel. I think Terrance has 
mentioned the wind in Pynchon (that sounds a bit wrong) during previous 
posts, if you're reading, could you refresh?

'Obsession or Seige' interesting choice of words. Obsession? Is that like a 
seige? Shoring up walls around yourself to fight off reality? Hmmm.

Have we mentioned Austra's name yet? A bit obvious. Latin for South. So she 
represents the South? The South, of course, to the Western European mind, 
symbolising all sorts of things, like darkness, mystery, magic, barbarity 
etc. I'm sure this is nothing new to people here. I don't think Mason and 
Dixon realise this. But I think they are in a process of learning that this 
idea of the South is not accurate. They later learn a little about the North 
as well.

As a contrast, in much of Southern Asia going South means going to 
Australia, and is seen as a move into prosperity and opportunity. Going 
West, for the European, is similar. Africa is Old, America is New. That's 
how they saw it, anyway. America, it turns out, is pretty old as well.

>
>And this brings me to the main topic: on first sight the distinctions
>are clear, taking a closer look, the distinctions disappear or becomes
>unclear.
>
>1.  Bonk points out there's no difference between Sea and Land
>
>2.  The horrors of the Cape, visible to 'Men of Reason' (68.26) and
>described as an 'Obsession or Siege' (68.25) causes nightmares.  Thanks
>to Toko, a Senoi woman, Mason re-gains control over death.  A scheme:
>Waking Life --> Nightmare --> Waking Life, wiping out the boundary
>again.
>(by the way, I cannot help but think 'Siege' is a Pynchon code word)
>
>3. There's a distinction between the settlers and their slaves.  The way
>Johanna treats Austra as a mere commodity brings the Latin word for
>slave in mind: manicipium: a thing (the word is neutral) to be grabbed
>(capio, to take) with the hand.
>But:
>"Slaves here commit suicide at a frightening Rate --but so do the
>Whites, for no reason, or for a Reason ubiquitous and unadress'd [. . .]
>(69.3-5)
>United in death (wish)?
>
>4. The Cape, described by Mason as a 'Viper-Plantation', (71.21), a
>'Colony of Hell' (71.13).  They both consider themselves as enlightened
>men; they both differ, or think they do from the whites at the Cape.
>But Dixon phantasizes about slaves helping him out while 'gazing.
>


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