AtDTDA (16) 434 +

[Michael Lee Bailey]

        25 WORDS ON RECURRING THEMES IN PYNCHON

        Traditions' genesis: in Chums of Chance, Navy men, Weissman and his
        minions, et al. Preterition and election. Murphy's Law and Goedel's
        Theorem. Whole Sick Crews.

>Mark wondered:  
>...got 25 words on Deserts/spirituality/light....
   
  
how about 10 brief points?

1) the theory of pilgrimages devolving into crusades.
as if to say, and this will happen to us too

2) spirituality vs worldliness - 
Chums maintain a pretense of "of course preferring" 
the un-raved-about spiritual rewards
to the lavishly-detailed-description of the worldly rewards

3) crops up again in the discussion of Manichaeanism

4) which also deals with light

5) light more prevalent, unfiltered in the desert 

6) total devotion to the Light 
causes a rejection of worldly pleasures 

7) therefore as Darby and Chick note -- the 
unsatisfying nature of Light/Dark as a 
metaphor for Good/Bad (I've always thought that too,
love the rainy nights...)

8) Are there spiritual rewards which in fact do
"outshine" materialistic rewards?  
...yes, lots of them...

1st & foremost, the knowledge of acting ethically...
a sine qua non for enjoying material things, but
doesn't _replace_ the enjoyment of them...

but also lots of other things, especially if you
tentatively define spirituality as not some mysterious force 
coming from an unknown direction which has to be faked...
but as, more or less, mental activity ie thought.

9) is Darby's "No pussy?" similar to Dixon's "No fucking?" when
invited to the Jesuits?  Of course!

10) Is the renunciation required of Catholic religious
equivalent to the Manichaeans?
eehnyh...maybe... Is Pynchon suggesting that there are
no valid celibate spiritualities?  --- naah, but Darby is...