TRTR(I.3) Empty Handed Lazarus Flesh

[alice wellintown]

An excellent way of reading the repetition is to apply family
resmblances. So, Otto jots down phrases, ideas for a play that has no
plot but is, through the particulars of reality, a family resemblance,
a play (or game) like the one he is playing with Esther.


On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 8:09 PM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> words below are moi...........I thought at first too, too much piling on......
>
> but what is repeated changes by chapters and sections and varies, sometimes
> a lot.......he almost embodies the Wittgenstien insight of a concept having
>
> a family of resemblances within it..............
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Erik T. Burns <eburns at gmail.com>
> To: Jed Kelestron <jedkelestron at gmail.com>
> Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Sat, May 7, 2011 4:20:54 PM
> Subject: Re: TRTR(I.3) Empty Handed Lazarus Flesh
>
> Jed:
>
> thanks for pointing this out, and for pointing it up. repetition is
> part of the beautiful flow of Gaddis. It's also what encourages
> detractors (of almost every large book) to insist it could have been
> (even) better if (more) edited.
>
> sometimes repetition in Gaddis seems repetitious; most of the time,
> though, it feels like he applies repetition skillfully in weaving his
> very large, very dense, very detailed tapestry.
>
>
>
> On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 9:09 PM, Jed Kelestron <jedkelestron at gmail.com> wrote:
>> The attention to pattern recognition that permeates the text is
>> illustrated by WG's technique of repeating words, images, and phrases,
>> especially within chapters, but also over the course of the novel.
>> There are numerous examples, but these caught my eye as I was
>> reviewing the uses of hands in Chapter 3.
>>
>> -------------------------------------
>>
>> Left hand; right hand: they moved over her with equal assurance.
>> Undistinguished here they raised her flesh, and Esther rose to
>> reconcile them, to provide common ground where each might know what
>> the other is doing. (79:11-14)
>>
>> [...] her hand moved down his body to find him and gently raise him to
>> life. (86:31-2)
>>
>> -------------------------------------
>>
>> His empty hands opened and closed at his sides, as though seeking
>> something to occupy them. (88:2-3)
>>
>> He stood, his hands at his sides, opening and closing on nothing. (134:6)
>>
>> --------------------------------------
>>
>
>