MDMD: the mirror

[jbor]

Thanks for this info. I wonder if the spelling error is really an error on
Pynchon's part, or is he reproducing the erroneous spelling on the
inscription? He does put the word in quotation marks after all, whereas if
he was referring to the actual event itself he wouldn't have needed to quote
it, would he? The mirror, if it was appropriated from the house for the
party, would have had whatever frame it already had, wouldn't it? Or would
it have been reframed for the event? (But I can't think of a way to redeem
him for getting the date wrong!)

The line about "Remembrance of a Time better forgotten" (6.2) seems to me to
be a comment from a narrative voice outside of Wicks, but from within the
time of the narrative setting. It seems to express the prevailing attitude
of Philadelphians, rather than just this family, to the War of Independence
and what must have been their prior colonial loyalties, (or ambivalence).

best (and welcome)


on 9/10/01 5:35 PM, Michael Crowley at crowley at arches.uga.edu wrote:

> This mirror is pretty interesting.
> 
> The actual mirror it is modeled on, one of the eighty-five or so used in the
> ballroom of the Meschianza (as Andre originally spelled it on the
> invitations; see Wolf and Korey _Quarter of a Millenium_), is currently on
> display at the Library Company of Philadelphia.  The inscription on the
> mahogany frame, which was added after the event and spoils the design,
> according to Sturgis, reads, “Mischianza--1778 / This mirror was in the ball
> room of the Wharton House, Philadelphia, at above date & on the occasion of
> above fête”; the mirror itself measures 7.5' x 3' (Singleton and Sturgis
> _The Furniture of our Forefathers_ 559).
> 
> I'm doubtful we should conclude that the LeSparks were loyalists, however.
> The city was occupied; Andre wanted 85 mirrors for his party; loyalist or
> not, you're probably going to loan him your mirror in that situation.  Of
> course, for someone in JWL's line of work, you'd probably want to keep all
> your options open.
> 
> Pynchon/the narrator gets several things wrong in the opening
> paragraphs--first of all,the date of the Meschianza; he also adopts the
> later misspelling; the frame of the mirror that provides the model for this
> one is made out of mahogany, though the narrator suggests that the card
> table is the only mahogany.  Pynchon is usually pretty careful about his
> details; why not here?  Perhaps he doesn't know about the mirror at the LC
> of Philadelphia, but he must have run across it somewhere--mirrors with
> inscribed frames from the late colonial/federal period are extremely rare,
> as are Meschianza mirrors.
> 
> Besides the historical connections, the mirror is a pretty obvious symbol to
> be throwing out early on: it signals the mise-en-abymic nature of the
> Reverend's narrative, though Pynchon does not exploit this device the way
> other postmodern writers have.  Pynchon leaves out the inscription on the
> frame; the Reverend's narrative provides the frame for this "Remembrance of
> a Time better forgotten."  Mirrors come up later in the reflecting
> telescopes M&D use, which make everything appear upside-down.
> 
> The Mirror also commemorates the very event which marks the cusp between
> British and American control of Philadelphia.  The significance of this
> moment reminds me of Edward Mendelson's discussion of encyclopedic
> narratives.  EM argues that such books "occupy a special historical position
> in their cultures, a fulcrum, often, between periods that later readers
> consider national pre-history and national history" ("Encyclopedic
> Narrative" 1267-68).  The mirror is also a common trope for the idea of the
> encyclopedia, and it's clear that within the novel, the Reverend's narrative
> is an encyclopedic narrative in EM's sense... Which makes me wonder again
> why, given Pynchon's encyclopedic attention to detail, he doesn't seem to
> have all the facts straight when it comes to this mirror.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org]On
> Behalf Of jbor
> Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2001 6:35 PM
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> Subject: Re: MDMD: the mirror
> 
> 
> on 9/9/01 8:29 AM, Judy Panetta at judy at brandxinc.com wrote:
> 
>> 
>> The mirror...hmmmmm. The LeSparks were loyalists?
> 
> I'm not so certain about this. This mirror, which sounds quite ornate, has
> certainly been banished subsequently to the children's room.
> 
> Is there any other evidence to support the contention?
> 
> best
>