m&m's in V

[Ghetta Life]

Lots of pigs in Pynchon's writings, especially in GR.  The pig represents 
many things, and we know (from Krissie's account) that Pynchon  LIKES pigs.

1.  In the ancient Greek world they were symbolic of fertility:

"Thesmophoria:

An annual three-day festival which was held in honour of Demeter 
Thesmophoros, observed in various part of Greece. It is a festival where the 
rites were carried out by women, and the purpose was to ensure the fertility 
of the land, so that good crop would be harvested. The women participating 
in the rituals had to fast and observe their chastity for several days.

The rite was supposed to symbolised the abduction of Kore (Persephone), 
daughter of Demeter, and of the the time she must spend on the surface and 
in the Underworld. So on the first day, pigs was thrown into a pit or 
underground chamber. What remains that are left and not eaten by snakes, and 
before it had time to rot, the remains are then brought back up by women who 
had fasted. The pigs' remains are then place on the altar, in the hope that 
there are good crop this year. The second day involved with women fasting, 
in remembrance to the time that Demeter was wandering and mourning over the 
loss of her daughter. On the third day, the women spent the day giving gifts 
to children and praying for blessing on family. They also prayed for good 
crops. On this day, it was to commemorate Demeter reunion with her daughter, 
ending the famine and failed crops."

2.  In GR pigs are directly associated with the "preterite," those doomed 
ones, being taken to slaughter.

Thus a preserved dead pig would not be a good thing to have about the house. 
  It's fertility has been killed and it's slaughter displayed as "art."  It 
is a symbol of stagnation.

Ghetta


>From: "Joseph Tracy" <brook7 at earthlink.net>
>  Pig fetus is tacked to door( this ain't the innocent lambs blood that 
>might ward off the Angelo of death, that host will be making his exodus in 
>the nick of time.
>
>I would  like to hear a bit of discussion of the pig thing in P's writing.

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