MDDM Ch. 29 "a Voice thro' the Vapors"

[jbor]

Partly the nightmare apparition of Franklin leading his acolytes out into
the world on a merry dance of death is through Mason's lenses here. Or, more
properly, through the bottom of his beer glass - I think it's safe to assume
that "Intoxication" *has* set in (293.16) at this juncture in his insomniac
wanderings. And Mason, as we know, is extremely "sensitive" to and sceptical
about all things "Electrickal". (285-6) So, in this respect, yes, it is
somewhat similar to those moments in _GR_ when, say, Greta or Thanatz convey
*their* nightmarish impressions of what Lt. Weissmann was like.

However, it is explicitly "a Voice thro' the Vapors" (294.7) which announces
Ben F.'s theatrickal transmogrification into "Death", and direct speech on
p. 295 which represents Franklin's Manichaean megalomania. So, these
apparently objectified interventions are enough to convince me that the
negative characterisation of Franklin *here* - and *to this point* in the
novel - is deliberate, and that narrative agency has aligned itself with
Mason's pov. (Of course, it might well be argued that it is merely Wicks's
coloration of the scene, but as Wicks wasn't at the particular performance,
and is entirely a fictional contrivance and convenience of the author's
anyway, I don't know that this would be a very fruitful avenue of
interpretation at this point.) I also imagine that, in the larger scheme of
things, it could be demonstrated that Mason's pov in _M&D_ is more reliable,
and has greater narrative integrity, than either Thanatz's or Greta
Erdmann's in _GR_.

But I'd be interested to see some textual evidence to support your
contention that in _GR_ "the rape of the earth in search of petroleum is
seen as a significant result of humankind's death-wish". I'm not saying that
that's not correct, nor that Pynchon is conveying an opposite sentiment of
some description. But I do think that, due to the breadth of perspectives
which are given voice in the texts, there's a very real danger that a reader
could inadvertently over-emphasise certain elements and/or distort
particular passages in an attempt to make Pynchon's work conform to her or
his own peculiar political, religious and/or moral preconceptions and
prejudices.

best


> 
> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 18:22:28 -0800
> To: pynchon-l@[omitted]
> From: Doug Millison <millison@[omitted]>
> Subject: MDMD Ch. 29 - Franklin
> 
> I agree with what you say about Franklin and his portrayal here, and
> especially the way you see "the quest for energy will lead humanity
> blithely towards suicide" -- that's certainly in keeping with  GR, where
> the rape of the earth in search of petroleum is seen as a significant
> result of humankind's death-wish.
> 
> Given past statements about the Pynchon's lack of judgements regarding his
> characters and what they do, however, I'm a bit surprised that you see the
> author portraying Franklin's activities as "malevolent"  and Franklin
> himself as  "something of a Manichaean megalomaniac." Do you see the author
> counter-balancing with more positive portrayals of Franklin elsewhere in
> the text, or otherwise undercutting these value judgements, or can we take
> away from the novel -- in your view at least -- an unredeemed negative
> appraisal of Franklin in M&D?
> 
> jbor:
>> "If anything, his activities are
>> portrayed as even more malevolent here. But I think that Pynchon's main
>> gripe with him seems to be to do with his role in the harnessing of
>> electricity as an energy source (and thus, in the future development of "the
>> Grid"). The danse macabre he conducts out into the thunderstorm symbolises
>> the way that the quest for energy will lead humanity blithely towards
>> suicide. His comments in the last paragraph seem to indicate that Ben is
>> fully aware of what the consequences of his experimentation and discoveries
>> will be, and see him as something of a Manichaean megalomaniac. "
>> 
>