MDMD 1: Snow-Balls

[Judy Panetta]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org]On
Behalf Of Thomas Eckhardt
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 9:10 AM
To: pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: MDMD 1: Snow-Balls

>From Thomas:

The opening sentence is full of echoes. "Snow-Balls have flown their
Arcs". These words, as has been pointed out, rather obviously allude to
GR, a novel in which the parabola or "Arc" of the Rocket functions as
leitmotif, central symbol, and structural device. GR is set in WWII, but
it is also the - perhaps definitive - literary expression of a
sensibility shaped by the cold war. This historical period is over, the
opening sentence seems to declare, but not accidentally, I suspect, the
imprints of those missiles on the walls can still be seen. (The word
"starr'd", by the way, may be perceived as a first reference to the
subjects of astronomy and astrology.)

As we go along, we hear that only a few years before the time of the
narrative present - the present of the framing narrative, that is -
other missiles have been flying their deadly parabolas. The War for
Independence is over, but its imprints too are still everywhere, "wounds
bodily and ghostly, great and small, go aching on, not ev'ry one
commemorated." (6)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From Judy:
How captivating - this first sentence! I'm tickled by your note on
"starr'd." Just dandy. The tone of this passage is so full of laughter and
gaiety it is hard for me to see more than that. Although I think others may
be reading this opening differently. Perhaps there is a nod to GR. I believe
there are passages in M&D that are there just for our (and the author's)
amusement. (Don't want to give anything away, but one has to do with a
fictitious sailor who's fond of spinach.) The "flown their Arcs" may be one
of them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas:
And, of course, the title of the novel - uniting the names Mason and
Dixon by means of an ampersand which couldn't be more unlike a straight
dividing line - to anyone with even only cursory knowledge of US-history
inevitably is reminiscent of the institution of slavery and the Civil
War.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judy:
But consider also the iconography of the names. Rob sent an example from the
Chambers Biographical Dictionary: Mason's biography was not complete without
Dixon. Though in current usage, there is no ampersand when referring to the
line. But yes...the names carry such meaning...very little, if any of it
have anything to do with these two men.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas:
Echoes, associations. On the other hand - and more importantly, in my
opinion - the opening of the novel is a marvelous example of realistic
writing, drawing us into its long lost world with an immense amount of
visual, aural and olfactory impressions, with historical detail
concerning the family's history and the larger events, and of course by
means of its language. "A la recherche du temps perdu" indeed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you Thomas. This was wonderful.

Best, Judy