Science/medicine in literaturn, a favour

[richard baillie]

baroque cycle

neal stephensom


On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 11:11:24 -0500, rcfchess at aol.com said:
> The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann 
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Fellows-McCully <pfm at anam.com>
> To: 
> Sent: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 15:25:43 -0000
> Subject: RE: Science/medicine in literature, a favour
> 
> 
> How about 'Frankenstein'
> 
> pfm
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org on behalf of Paul Mackin
> Sent: Fri 10/02/2006 17:10
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> Subject: Re: Science/medicine in literature, a favour
> 
> 
> On Feb 10, 2006, at 7:16 AM, Gordon, Alex wrote:
> 
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > A good friend of mine has a job interview coming up in a few weeks 
> > and she's been told to research the history of science and medicine 
> > in literature. She's a bit nervous, so I told her that I'd ask the 
> > capable folk on the Pynchon list for some ideas, as many people 
> > there, being Pynchon fans and all, seem to be rather well-
> > acquainted with both the science and the literature... So, if you 
> > may be so kind, could you point me in the direction of some decent 
> > and relevant articles/books that you know of, or maybe throw in 
> > some ideas on the subject that you think might be useful to her? I 
> > - and subsequently she - would be very grateful. Her research is 
> > meant to be focused more on the medicine side of science, and 
> > specifically the heart, so the Pynchon rocket stuff unfortunately 
> > mightn't be of too much use here, but any advice or information you 
> > can dispense would be very much appreciated.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Alex
> >
> >
> Wow. I can see why your friend might be a bit nervous. All my 
> sympathy.  What kind of job would she be applying for? Probably the 
> best strategy would be to have several fairly awing examples at  her 
> fingertips. (so that the interviewer will quickly change the subject)
> 
> A lot of novels contain portrayals of physician patient relationships 
> and in many cases the problem would be heart disease.  Take the  
> case  of  Milly Theale and Sir Luke in Henry James'  _The Wings of 
> the Dove_. Milly's specific problem is never disclosed (as I recall) 
> but a weak ticker seems likely in the young heiress. Sir Luke is a 
> Harley Street specialist who takes more than a mere medical, yet 
> still completely proper, interest in Milly.
> 
> If  one wanted something specifically portraying medical research, 
> there is Sinclair Lewis'  novel _Arrowsmith_ .  The title character,  
> Martin Arrowsmith,  is an idealistic doctor who--through trial and 
> tribulation--devotes his life to medical research under the guidance 
> of his mentor Dr Gottlieb.
-- 
  richard baillie
  richbaillie at fastmail.fm

-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - mmm... Fastmail...