ATDTDA (5.1) - The Etienne-Louis Malus

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

                 Well, the Vormance Expedition is AtD's 9/11. When the 
                 "metorite" rolls into town, around page 150, I'm sure 
                 we'll get into more detail, but the "Vormance Expedition" 
                 is Pynchon's vision of 9/11, moved into the time zone 
                 and period ambiance of Against the Day..

                 davemarc:
                 That might be overstating the case, minimizing the similarity 
                 of this section to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft or even Bram 
                 Stoker or Mary Shelley.

You're right, it's not only a stand-in for 9/11, there's loads of overlays in 
this section, one of the very best that the author has ever come up with. 
I'd be interested in finding out about those echos of 19th century gothic 
writing.

The Finnish God Tapio also comes to mind. There's a great work by 
Jean Sibelius, his last major work, entitled Tapiola, which climaxes
with a fantastic symphonic orchestration of a hellacious ice storm, 
a raging force emanating from Finland's forest God.

37 "Nyyrikki, son of Tapio,
I Clear-skinned red-cap of the forest,
Blaze a trail across the country
And set guideposts on the hills 40
That a stupid man may follow,
Utter stranger find his way
While he's hunting down the quarry,
Scouring through the forest for it.

45 "Mielikki, the forest mistress,
Fair of figure, clear-skinned matron!
Set your golden game in motion!
Let your silver come before me
On the pathway of the hunter,
On the footsteps of the seeker, so

51 "Take the golden keys that jingle
On the ring against your thigh;
Open wide the stores of Tapio,
Unlock the fortress of the forest
On the day that I go hunting,
While I'm tracking down the quarry!

http://www.gov.karelia.ru/Different/Kalevala/songs/song14_e.shtml.

I'm not saying there's necessarily a one-for-one relation here, 
but pointing to a concept of deity one would associate with 
the shamanic cultures of Finland, Iceland, Sweden, many of 
whose children found themselves in mining camps around
Colorado during the time of the events that include the 
"Vormance Expedition", like something out of Pan's Labyrinth.