ATD: unanswered questions

[Mark Kohut]

One reason may be Pynchon's authorial judgment on the fountainhead of the family. I believe Webb's deepest sin is acts of terrorism and his whole line is ruined because of it.


--- On Mon, 9/15/08, bandwraith at aol.com <bandwraith at aol.com> wrote:

> From: bandwraith at aol.com <bandwraith at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: ATD: unanswered questions
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 8:29 PM
> "I vote with you......"
> 
> Well, I guess I'm out voted on this one, but there
> is still the question of Lake's guilt, or not, that
> nags.
> 
> It's easy to dismiss her for rewarding Deuce with
> her love. He's hideous. But Webb's own treatment
> of Lake left alot to be desired, and is arguably partly
> responsible for her lack of filial loyalty after his
> murder;
> an act she had nothing to do wiith. Furthermore,
> Webb himself was duped into thinking Deuce would
> be a good match for Lake. Why should she be held
> to a higher standard regarding character judgement?
> 
> Her "punishment" is more problematical, it seems
> to
> me, than that of Scarsdale, or Deuce and Sloat. She's
> definitely flawed, and her barreness, if that's the
> case,
> does stand in stark contrast to the fecundity erupting
> all around by novel's end. In that sense, she's
> made
> an example of, but why? Really the only person who
> might be in a position to judge her, besides Mayva, is
> Webb, and he's dead.