MD3PAD 151-153

[Thomas Eckhardt]

Toby G Levy schrieb:

>v#44: Herren - plural of Herr, so therefore German men.
>
"Men" in German is "Männer". "Herr" is more complicated. On the one 
hand, it is the common form of addressing men, as in, for example, "Herr 
Kafka". On the other hand, it is associated with "Herrschaft" - 
domination, mastery etc. Depending on the context, "Herr" can therefore 
mean "Mister" as well as "Master" (these English words being, of course, 
also related to each other).

But why does Pynchon use "Herren" instead of "Mynheeren"? I suppose that 
"Herren", in the sense of "master" as in "master and slave" or "master 
and servant", is more familar in the English-speaking world than 
"Mynheeren". Cf. "Herrenmenschen", "Blitzkrieg", "Lebensraum"...

Thomas