CoL49(6): Humbert Humbert Cats

[rich]

On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 4:27 AM, Michael
Bailey<michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
> rich wrote:
>> Pynchon's mea culpas about his past attitudes is pretty annoying (and
>> hardly enlightening or original) ; his labored attempts to make up for
>> it in Vineland and AtD (w.r.t. to the ladies) weaken those books (who
>> can stand Yasmeen Halfcourt)
>>
>
> I rather like her...
> first, the name.  Halfcourt like half court basketball, also like Half
> - couer (French for heart) which name she inherited from the
> halfheartedly colonizer, who was half-hearted in his colonization
> because he *has* a heart
>
I rather like V.  ;)
>
> Then, making her a mathematician with the sexual adventuresomeness of
> James Bond, just a really nice touch. A counter not only on the
> feminist plane (Yashmeen cuts a swath leaving her loves as devoted and
> damaged as 007's playmates)

but why is this acceptable after his whining about sadly how much he
was a james bond guy when he was young just by making 007 a woman--she
has all the same traits--haughty, oversexed; just think the whole
gender switcheroo thingy is a bit tiresome nowadays--sure u can use it
in spots but if that's all u got, well...she was able to walk thru
walls and shit--
is Pynchon overcompensating
nitpicking I know

>> why do so many men hate women? answer that instead of spouting
>> half-baked feminist crap

I should clarify--is Pynchon's remorse at being sexist whittled down
to a grown men are little boys explanation? not what you'd expect from
a guy who said why should things be easy
nitpicking I know

rich

>
>
> --
> "My God, I am fully in favor of a little leeway or the damnable jig is
> up! " - Seymour Glass
>