MDMD Ch. 30 Molly & Dolly

[Doug Millison]

Pynchon does seem to be having fun with Dolly and Molly, playing with
stereotypes and reader expectations, perhaps using these characters to
bring the present ('90s New York) into his historical fiction.  There's
also the reversal of the historical Franklin, who, if I remember correctly,
was known as a ladies man and, more specifically, to enjoy the company of
older women.  I believe there's a quote attributed to him, to the effect
that "older women are so grateful for the attention" or something like
that.

Whatever else, Pynchon seems to be having fun at the expense of the
Founding Fathers -- and perhaps at the expense of those who might be
offended at such disrespect in this post-Reagan-still-Bush hyperpatriot
era. I wonder if we have any younger american novelists -- those who came
of age during Reagan's "morning in America" -- who dare to treat these
symbols of the nation at once so lightly and with such pointed crititique.
Certainly it's difficult to imagine artists taking aim at the US
nationalist religion post-September 11.