VLVL Frenesi and DL

[jbor]

>> In my opinion, however, there's nothing in the text to support the idea
>> that DL is reconstructing the scene from her own
>> imagination and narrating it to Prairie and Ditzah.
> 
> What about the interjections of Ditzah and Prairie during the narrative?
> Never do you get an interjection by DL.

    "Yep," said Ditzah and DL together. (248)

There are lots of examples of DL interjecting. I don't accept that DL is
"telling" the whole story, as in literally reciting it out aloud, while the
films are showing. For a start, it isn't in character for her to prattle on
like that.

And I don't think there are any interjections at all from 199, when both DL
and Ditzah say "Oh, fuck!" as Brock appears on screen, until 246, when
"Ditzah recalled" who was filming at the time. I could be wrong.

I think we get a pretty clear indication of their relationship at 260.15-19,
and if we go back to 117.1-4 we see where it started, and at 141.12-16 DL
admits to being "obsessed" with her, and just like Brock ("he loved Frenesi
but did not possess her") in this respect.

I agree that DL thinks she has winnowed the basic facts (i.e. that Frenesi
was sleeping with Brock and that she betrayed Weed, and all her friends, and
DL in particular) out of the malarkey, but I don't think it's necessary (in
terms of the plot or the narrative structure), or in character, or even
logical, that she's actually narrating the entire section.

best

> A more subjectibe clue to me is the reluctance of Pynchon to explicitly
> define the relationship between DL and Frenesi.  My interpretation of
> this is that DL is repressing memories and feelings from the days of her
> relationship because it is just too painful.
> 
> Yes, Frenesi told unending self-serving lies to DL during that last
> meeting, but DL believed she winnowed the truth out of all the malarkey
> and relates the true story as she sees it to Prairie.