TRTR(I.3) Hidden Profits [Epigraph]

[alice wellintown]

> In the Clementine view man seeks the good,  serious novelist are men (or
> women), therefore serious fiction seeks good and is in some way on the side
> of virtue.
>
>  Maybe it's a case, in modern serious fiction, that morality is paid
> obeisance,  not by its presence, but by its absence. (presence of an
> absence)
>
> Or, what it may amount to is our changing view of what constitutes an
> adequate morality.

Both of these, that is, the presence of an absence and a changed view
of a moral code of conduct, are fundamental to modern fiction and to
modern art generally. Each year I think about taking _The Great
Gatsby_ off of my reading list. I keep it. The presence of an absence
has much to do with reader expectations and conventions. So does the
morality or moral code of conduct (grace under fire or whatever).
Unreliable narrators and the dominance of irony (often not simply a
turn of the screw that involves a 180 torque to the opposite, like
when a teen uses sarcasm, calling her best friend "Einstein" when she
means "dumb-ass"), both in the works themselves and in the critical
reviews, readings, debates, of the works, is a challenge that 100
years of hard labor has done little to make these fundamentals any
easier on readers of serious and difficult fictions.  Also, as Booth
says in _The Rhetoric of Fiction_, we have looked so often at the
misty reflections of foggy landscape (he doesn't mention Poe, but I am
reminded of the tarn in  Poe's House of Usher), that we have come to
like the fog. Clarity and simplicity are suspect; irony rules supreme.
Authors find themselves having to explain the distance such ironies
create, as when Nabokov must remind readers that HH is an anarchist
who enjoys nymphets, that he is neither an anarchist nor a man who
obsesses over girls.

> In Trilling's view, the older moral virtue of sincerity (the "to thine own
> self be true" sort of thing) has been replaced by a new and improved
> version, which he labels authenticity.

Like Hamlet caught between Fastus and Luther.

http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/wittenberg11.htm

> I don't want to type out a long quote (which anyway would be inadequate to
> do justice to T's ideas), but the general idea is that, with our changing
> notions of the self (Freud etc),  much that formerly was seen as relevant to
> morality is now seen as of little account. If the "self" is in question,
> what does being true to it even mean?  And as a replacement for the old,
> much that was traditionally condemned is accorded considerable moral
> authority, examples being  violence, disorder, and unreason.  (this is an
> inadequate description but I hope it conveys something)
>
> Probably the turmoil Wyatt seems always to be in is an example of
> authenticity.
>
> P
>
>> But, to write moralistically, as with Rand and many, many others..is
>> not to write art..................
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: David Morris<fqmorris at gmail.com>
>> To: Paul Mackin<mackin.paul at verizon.net>
>> Cc: Erik T. Burns<eburns at gmail.com>; "pynchon-l at waste.org"
>> <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Sent: Fri, April 29, 2011 7:10:38 PM
>> Subject: Re: TRTR(I.3) Hidden Profits [Epigraph]
>>
>> Characters have attitudes, as do authors. Behavior isn't the issue.
>> Art isn't good at morality, but is at confrontation, but only if
>> self-aware. Think Ayn Rand- no sense of humor, or awareness of her own
>> foibles.
>>
>> Gaddis has a penchant for micro vignettes that invite quick
>> judgements. He wants us to be judgmental. Not that he's being serious,
>> but jokes have roots in sincerity.
>>
>> David Morris
>>
>> On Friday, April 29, 2011, Paul Mackin<mackin.paul at verizon.net>  wrote:
>>>
>>> On 4/29/2011 4:55 PM, Erik T. Burns wrote:
>>>
>>> Even a symptom in us all...
>>>
>>> which the better educated among us have learned to suppress.  But which
>>> group
>>> is more authentic?
>>>
>>> In real life the educated approach seems to be the better way.  To put it
>>> mildly.
>>>
>>> In books it's better to let all hang out.
>>>
>>> P
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 29/04/2011, at 21:00, Richard Ryan<himself at richardryan.com>    wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> The homophobia in Gaddis may be like the misogyny in Pynchon; partly a
>>> symptom of the times, partly a symptom in the author.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 2:40 PM, Paul Mackin<mackin.paul at verizon.net>
>>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> On 4/29/2011 1:46 PM, David Morris wrote:
>>>
>>> It was the overly-stereotypical dialogue of the various members of the
>>> NYC (what I call) Whole Sick Crew that put me off last time I read TR.
>>>    It's got to be satire, but not necessarily friendly satire.  It seems
>>> very likely to me that V's Whole Sick Crew was inspired by this one in
>>> TR.  And TRP's depiction of homosexuality in GR isn't too friendly
>>> either.  I think men in their eras were a lot less at ease with
>>> homosexuality in general
>>>
>>>
>>> Is it a good idea, though, to judge art (in this case literary writing)
>>> on
>>> the basis of fairness to minorities, or majorities for that matter?
>>>
>>> In discussions of TR the word authenticity is often in the fore.  Mark
>>> alluded to Trilling's Sincerity and Authenticity.   It's more than just
>>> that
>>> art isn't meant to teach good behavior.  It's that art itself is not good
>>> behavior.  In fact it is almost certainly bad behavior.  (in a manner of
>>> speaking) Bad behavior can hurt.
>>>
>>> The good news is we can appreciate it without having to act it out.  Or
>>> bring it home to the children.
>>>
>>> In life it's a good idea not to be too authentic.
>>>
>>> That's  the way I see it.  (not everyone does)
>>>
>>> P
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> David Morris
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 12:37 PM, rich<richard.romeo at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> if only to play up those who aren't what they seem. if memory serves,
>>> The Swede is married but is a flamer
>>>
>>> but it's so clearly satirical--it doesn't seem malicious on gaddis' part
>>> (i.e. its what these people do that Gaddis mocks not who they are) at
>>> least
>>> thats how I see it
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Richard Ryan
>>> New York and the World
>>> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>>> Thanks to all who saw VTM's new production!
>>> "Brilliant!";"Superb!" - NYTheatre-wire.com
>>> www.kingstheplay.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>