re SLSL Intro "Two Amiable Fuzzy Creatures"

[pynchonoid]

>Has
>Pynchon blundered here again? 

Has he?  If that's the assertion, how would a reader
know it with anything like certainty?

In a visual (not tactile) sense, mole and porcupine
appear  "fuzzy"; neither is particularly aggressive,
so "amiable" may not be completely out of the ball
park, either -- multiple perspectives, both/and, not
either/or.  

More generally, I wonder how assuming Pynchon has made
a "mistake" helps in interpreting what he's written
here in the Intro, although I do see it as one
strategy for dealing with material that may enfold
conflicting meanings -- if you assume Pynchon's made a
"mistake", you don't have to deal with the complexity
of the text as presented. If a potential disconnect
between these animals and the fuzzy/amiable
description is so obvious to folks here on Pynchon-L,
it's safe to assume that readers of the SL Into prior
to publication would have questioned it, too; safe to
assume as well that we're dealing with a text here
that has been written, edited, and published with
Pynchon's approval.

Pynchon would appear to fuss over his word choice
(that seems clear just by reading his work and
examinming his diction) -- a fact that he emphasizes
in the Intro when he talks about his use of a
thesaurus.  I suggest it's more fruitful to interpret
the text, not assume it's "wrong"  (whatever that
might mean)and speculate about what Pynchon should or
might have written instead.

Pynchon and/or his editors have made small changes
some of his texts in later editions, but not,
apparently, this one -- anybody know anything to the
contrary re the Intro?

-Doug

P.S.  Just because a particular reader may be
confused, doesn't mean the text is confusing.



=====
<http://www.pynchonoid.blogspot.com/>

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