MDDM Ch. 69 World-as-text

[jbor]

on 10/8/02 3:14 AM, Terrance at lycidas2 at earthlink.net wrote:

> The world is pre-textual and post-textual, even
> in these postmodern times.

I disagree. Human perception of the world is always textual and, thus, "il
n'y a pas de hors-texte". Even if you believe in "God", a "god", or "gods",
then the world is conceived as the text or Text of Creation or an act of
creation. Variations on this idea are repeated often enough in Pynchon's
work, as is the companion notion of the text as a world (cf. Oedipa writing
"*shall I project a world?*").

    No question, beyond Cheat they move in a time and space apt, one instant
    to the next, to stretch or shrink,-- as a Chain's length may, upon the
    clement Page, pass little notic'd, whilst in an Ambuscade, may reckon
    as, perhaps, all,-- or Nothing. [673.6: Pynchon's narrator, not Wicks]

best


> I can't quite get this idea of the
> world-as-text. 
> Can't remember where this idea comes from. Roland Barthes uses this idea
> in the text Otto cited and I think it's a pretty common idea floating
> around college campuses these days.