Coy

[Joseph Tracy]

One does have to keep in mind that Oedipa was played by a woman in  
L49. The parallels are to me striking but not exact. Why should they  
be? Plato interpreted the story his own way. Probing at a myth seems  
more artistically rich than repeating it.  The reason I question the   
Persephone story is that it is about the seasons and that seems  
harder to relate to the themes of the IV.  Odysseus on the other hand  
seems like a Pynchonian touchstone though his odyssei seem likely to  
get lost, or seriously disoriented on the way.

always forgettin to swap the To address on my replies


On Oct 19, 2009, at 5:57 PM, David Morris wrote:

> There might be some value to the Orpheus-Persephone myth in IV, but so
> far it's not been convincingly developed.  Coy as Orpheus?  More like
> Persephone, the one who disappeared underground.  And the pursuer here
> is Doc, not much in common w/ Orpheus.  And anyway Doc's Persephone
> would be Shasta, and she isn't found.  She returns of her own free
> will.
>
> And speaking of Shasta, what a dud of a development was her part in
> this story.  She just essentially gets dumped, and returns to her old
> haunt.  Penny was more interesting, and that's not saying much.
>
> But, despite the above, I did enjoy IV...
>
> David Morris.
>
> On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 12:50 PM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
>> Great thought-provoking post, Joseph (as usual).  Some provoked  
>> thoughts:  Coy-Orpheus playing Brazilian music ties in with the  
>> Brazilian movie Black Orpheus.  Might Shasta be Persephone, also  
>> returning from the Underworld,though probably not on a permanent  
>> basis where Doc's concerned?  And Doc, then, is Odysseus, also  
>> returning from his quest into the Underworld?  A case could also  
>> be made for Coy as Odysseus, in that he descends into the  
>> Underworld on his own while his wife waits for him at home.  Like  
>> Odysseus, Coy returns home.  Doc is lost in fog at the end, much  
>> as Slothrop disintegrates.  Not all journeys have a conventionally  
>> happy ending, but unhappy or indeterminate endings are a lot more  
>> interesting.