Blicero's "politics"

[jbor]

on 26/2/03 3:08 AM, Scott Badger at lupine at ncia.net wrote:

> How about, "pure" and corrupt"?
 
Early on, the Rilkean/Nazi thing does seem to break down into categories of
"pure" and "corrupt", all that yearning for fire and bleaching, and it's a
bit like the Northern/Southern dynamic Pynchon sets up between Porpentine
and the opponents in 'Under the Rose'. In his monologue at 722-4 I get the
impression that Blicero had come to renounce that idealism, however. Which,
indeed, might be a failure of the Rilkean vision, in the light of how both
Nazism and the war turned out.

> But doesn't gnosticsm involve, not so much ritual, but the attainment of
> some arcane knowledge?
 
Yes, "gnosis", but Blicero's "illumination" as a launch officer is (perhaps)
more a kind of production-line instinct. He's good at his job.
 
> Is it himself, or Gottfried, that Blicero hopes will achieve transcendence?

Hard question to answer. Physically, Gottfried. Metaphysically, love? --
humanity? Don't forget his unexpected gesture of kindness and charity
towards Pokler right at the end of the war. I always get the impression that
Blicero has given up on any hope for either of redemption, salvation or
transcendence (or any sort of "overcoming") for himself.

best