Grace (and Beyond) before Thanksgiving from IV

[Robin Landseadel]

On Nov 25, 2009, at 12:07 PM, Mark Kohut wrote:

> Page 224, we have Sortilege, described as a [totally?] sympathetic

—did she fuck anybody up? Was she ever wrong?

> character within IV, by some plister, which seemed not to be overtly  
> challenged [until now?] has a thought about grace....
>
> "I don't know why I am telling you all this."
>
> "Doc didn't either, though he wished he had a small aggravation
> fee for each time somebody had spilled more than they meant to and
> then said they didn't know why. Sortilege, who liked finding new  
> uses for the term "Beyond," thought this was a form of grace and  
> that he should just accept it, because it could go away as easily as  
> it came."

Again, there seems to always be some Christian subtext to Pynchon's  
occult meanderings. Grace is something that one cannot "Will" into  
creation, in order to work one must let go of any expectation of  
reward for "good behavior." Doc puts up with folks just dumping their  
whole friggin' life story on him, often during first meetings. But  
being a sympathetic and usually present ear absorbs and mutates some  
of this bad mojo. While Doc has some hope of getting new leads for his  
cases, when it really works it works like Coy and Crocker Fenway,  
"Beyond,"one might say.

> Cf. Grace and Lew Basnight. Discuss.

Lucky enough to land with his ass intact beside those T.W.I.T.s. Say  
goodnight, Gracie.

> A...and "beyond".....??? what's that mean from a totally sympathetic  
> [is she?] character?

Well, Sortilège is also a totally psychic character and that's what  
one would expect from "those sorts." Because she knows that Doc has  
some weird gift that makes people want to spontaneously "spill the  
beans" to him.