V-2nd - 7: mistaken identities

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Vheissu-Venezuela, Godolphin-Gadrulfi.  Is this whole chapter a farcical interlude?  In ATD, Pynchon explored various literary styles:  boys' adventure fiction, western, noir-detective.  Did it start here?  Assuming Stencil's the hidden narrator here, the tone of this chapter is lighter, more comical, than that of Chapter 3, which comes across as sad and  world-weary.  In both, we have a spy singing in Italian.  In Chapter 3, we get Italian opera (Manon Lescaut), here, it's described as cheesy love songs sung for the benefit of tourists.  Chapter 3's got espionage and a brewing assassination.  This chapter has a caper with a silly premise:  stealing The Birth of Venus and hiding it in a tree.  Victoria Wren (assuming there's only one of her) is the constant here.  SO Stencil's seeking V. not just through historical settings, but through narrative styles.

Laura