VinleLand-IntraVenoes: Pynchon's novels as religious exploration

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Mentioning Christmas Eve doesn't automatically make one religious.  My Jewish atheist mother liked to serve us eggnog on Christmas Eve - I have no idea why.
The classic example of religion in Pynchon is Jessica and Roger in the church.  But I'm not convinced that this scene is about Pynchon's religious awe.  There's a lot going on in that scene that isn't about Christianity (comparing it to wartime propaganda, for example).

LK

-----Original Message-----
>From: Kai Frederik Lorentzen <lorentzen at hotmail.de>
>Sent: Feb 18, 2009 5:50 AM
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: RE: VinleLand-IntraVenoes: Pynchon's novels as religious exploration
>
>
>First novel, first chapter, first page:
>"Every night is Christmas Eve on old East Main"
> 
>kfl 
> 
>
>
>
>> 
>> Examples?
>> 
>
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>>>From: David Morris 
>> 
>>>
>>>One of Pynchon's over-arching explorations is that of origins of
>>>order/patterns/meaning in the universe. Are they inherent (existent
>>>apart from man, and "discovered" or "revealed"), or are they invented?
>>> Or both? This is very much a religious question, and thus, I think,
>>>ALL of Pynchon's novels are steeped in religious exploration.
>>>
>>>David Morris
>>>
>>>On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 4:49 PM,  wrote:
>>>> I have to confess to a total mental block towards anything remotely religious or spiritual. Still, the majority of TRP's themes don't fall into these categories, which explains why I'm such a Pynchon fan(atic).
>>