Christianity and Pynchon

[Paul Mackin]

Terrance wrote:

> >
> > 3. The most important fact of his biography seems to me that he's got very
> > puritan forefathers.
>
> Why is this fact more important than the fact that he was raised a
> catholic?

Maybe it's a combo.

The Catholic influence would have been immediate or at least early. What one's
parent (mother) believed and tried to instill is probably pretty indelible..  Not
least of all because it  provides the basis for what one rejects as one fights
for independence.  And of course being raised Catholic exposes one to an awful
lot of interesting and often quite weird lore that Protestants don't get. Perhaps
Pynchon like me got put in touch at a fairly early age with the 12-volume
Catholic Enclyclopedia.  Great read by the way. As a potential theme for a
budding modernist writer, however,  even as far back as Pynchon's time, a
Catholic upbringing in itself is  a terrible cliche. That Pynchon was able to put
this that part of his backgroud to use in ways that even James Joyce probably
never thought of is a tribute to  ingenuity and talent.  It was the addition of
the puritan-forefather business that was the  fantastic boon.  Pynchon of course
realized that his own tie to old New England renoun and success and sin and guilt
(and whatever)  was   remote and tenuous. But he did bear the name, which fact
would have stirred  his young imagination and perhaps his resentment as well.  In
any event it provided him a dandy theme which (and I think this is at least
arguable) meshed well  with whatever was left of his own Irish Catholic
sensibilty.

This is  naturally not ALL or necessarily even MOST of what Pynchon's writing is
about. But it seems important.

P..

P.S. Rick Moody is apparently also a guy who wanted to use his old New England
name to creative advantage. In his latest attempt the fact that he is really not
actually related to the Black Veil guy must have been a terrible let down.