aw. RE: VinleLand-IntraVenoes: Pynchon's novels as religious exploration

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

* Right. But David spoke of "the origins of order/patterns/meaning in the
universe" and then asked some questions about the nature of those origins,
connecting these questions to the existential dimension of the human fate
lots of people address as religious. With my quote I did not want to say
that Pynchon necessarily is or was religious (though by the time of V he,
according to Siegel's book, perhaps [still?] was a devoted Catholic), but
a remarkable and for 50 years ongoing interest in religious/spiritual 
matters (and be it on the level of satire) cannot be denied, I think. The 
quote itself seems to be a harsh criticism of secularized Western culture,
cause when there's "Christmas every night" the holy feasts calendar is set 
out of work completely. See also the all-too-many pentecostal refs in Col49.
 
Kai

PS: One day I had "Eggcream" in Brooklyn. Well, for me it was like Sushi.
Once in a lifetime is enough ;)
 
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> Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:15:05 -0500
> From: kelber at mindspring.com
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> Subject: RE: VinleLand-IntraVenoes: Pynchon's novels as religious exploration
>
> 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
>>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).
>>>
>