Vond /charm

[Ian Livingston]

Jung also notes that, "On the other hand... it is possible for man to
attain totality, to become whole, only with the co-operation of the
spirit of darkness, indeed that the latter is actually a causa
instrumentalis of redemption in and individuation.....  if we want to
overcone the power of darkness, we must turn his own weapons against
him...."

So, if Brock is representative of the "spirit of darkness" and his
weapons are seduction (Frenesi), distraction (the murder of Weed),
confusion (the mixed messages of his movie productions) -- how does
all that get turned against him in the end?  He is seduced after a
manner into his pursuit of Prairie, but then my memory starts to
challenge me (I confess I moved on to M&D and am now halfway through
my second read of AtD) but I think the evidence is there, no?

And is he, then, somehow responsible for the integration of the
several members of the cast at the denouement?


On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 11:18 AM, Richard Ryan <richardryannyc at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Nice Ian and Mark - a pithy analysis of Frenesi's core character dynamic and flaw.
>
> --- On Tue, 3/24/09, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
>> Subject: Vond /charm
>> To: "pynchon -l" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 1:06 PM
>>
>> Jung below combined with Pynchon's very words on
>> charisma---
>> he distrusts it and thinks we human beings should "not
>> follow leaders,
>> and watch the parking meters"---B. dylan---is very
>> pertinent.
>>
>> Frenesi is taken with Vond...she does not know herself--her
>> past, that part
>> of human beings connected to all of humanity through their
>> children, I
>> suggest.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>> To: Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net>
>> Cc: pynchon-l at waste.org
>> Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 1:40:32 PM
>> Subject: Re: Hitchens/ Rush/ Milosevic/Adolph/ Bush/ Vond
>> ?charm?
>>
>> I'd like to point toward Jung's discussion of "The
>> Phenomenology of
>> Spirit in Fairytales" in The Archetypes and the Collective
>> Unconscious.  One thing he mentions is failure of
>> self-knowledge in
>> the individual that makes her (or him) particularly
>> susceptible to the
>> seduction of participation in the impetus of mass
>> movements.  It is a
>> very readable essay and I think it is especially pertinent
>> here and to
>> OBA's work in general.
>>
>> -i
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 8:12 PM, Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net>
>> wrote:
>> > I wonder if we could turn this conversation for a
>> round or 2  anyway to
>> > Sasha's premise about the charm of fascists.
>> >
>> > This is kind of awful but do those of us who despise
>> fascism miss something
>> > about the phenomena by focusing on the monstrous
>> violence  of the fascist
>> > and the question of what is the proper military or
>> geopolitical response and
>> > missing the twinkle in his eye  earlier in his career
>> that makes his success
>> > possible.
>> >
>> > Is there a cultural response that  can heal  this
>>  communicable disease at
>> > the pre-pubescent  ambitious charm stage?
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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