on The Family---for possible discussion re Vineland/TRP

[Paul Mackin]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Kohut" <markekohut at yahoo.com>
To: "pynchon -l" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 10:27 AM
Subject: on The Family---for possible discussion re Vineland/TRP


>
> As to the family, I have never understood how that fits in with the other 
> ideals — or, indeed, why it should be an ideal at all. A group of closely 
> related persons living under one roof; it is a convenience, often a 
> necessity, sometimes a pleasure, sometimes the reverse; but who first 
> exalted it as admirable, an almost religious idea?
> — Rose Macaulay (1881-1958), British novelist
>

Interesting quote, Mark

Don''t think Pynchon ever implies with any convicttion that the Traverse 
family tradition of resistence as well as other things is necessarily 
admirable.

Family must have some effect on character formation.

p-lister discussion does seem to honor the family quite a bit.

Is this related to Heikki's idea that the novel lends itself more to 
traditiional type criticism? Character-,  morality-driven?

I'm pretty muddled on the whole thing at the moment.

P



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