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

[John Bailey]

And of course there's the fascination for children whose "elders" are non-human:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2058199.ece

I love the way this article is essentially written in the language of
a kids' picture book. PROTECTION... CAT.

On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 3:08 AM, Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Kohut" <markekohut at yahoo.com>
> To: "pynchon -l" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 10:39 AM
> Subject: Re: on The Family---for possible discussion re Vineland/TRP
>
>
>>
>> I just wanted to offer these kinda meta remarks on Ms. Macauley's words.
>> that have occurred to me.
>>
>> Some metaphysicians say we cannot even conceive of the universe without
>> having the concepts of space and time, at least.
>>
>> The human animal cannot survive without care by elders for a good part of
>> its
>> earliest time in the world. Let's call those caretakers Family, whether
>> biological or
>> otherwise.
>>
>> The greatest novelists cannot, analogously to metaphysicians,
>> even conceive their vision without a concept of the human?
>>
>> Therefore of the human Family?
>>
>> I think Ms. Macaulay's remark might be part of the reason she is a minor
>> British novelist.
>>
>>
>
> Rose Macaulay apparently could see the good side of a thing as well as the
> bad.
>
> Related to the family issue I would think, she is quoted in her wikipedia
> writeup as follows:
>
> "Adultery is a meanness and a stealing, a taking away from someone what
> should be theirs, a great selfishness, and surrounded and guarded by lies
> lest it should be found out. And out of meanness and selfishness and lying
> flow love and joy and peace beyond anything that can be imagined."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
>> To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 10:27:06 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>