M&D - Chapter 21 - Back in London

Sun Apr 12 15:02:34 CDT 2015

p. 212

Time has passed, and Mason finds London changed.

How long has him and Dixon been apart at this point, you reckon?

Mason got to see Maskelyne, pimped for him, and others are whispering openly behind his back, so to say. 
Has he payed off the help at the door, or servants within, to get to Maskelyne?

The deal is done - America it is.

But, oh dear, this is hard to untangle for a simple viking…

The Pilgrim, the American Ranger, held up as two similar archetypes?

This is Maskelyne's words to Mason, trying to soothe the edges? speaking of duty and honor?

> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 21.38 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com>:
> 
> Mason sure grieves in every way possible. 
> 
> 
>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 21.37 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>> 
>> p. 211
>> 
>> Mason imagines Rebekha fluttering upwards from the little patch in front of the gravestone. It is a picturesque image, and sort of pastoral.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 21.31 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>> 
>>> p. 211
>>> 
>>> Susannah and Rebekah, are they exchanging looks in the courtyard? an intriguing passage. 
>>> 
>>> Back on p. 186 Susannah had asked Rebekah weather the Gentlemen who came to see her about Mason had «come from Grandfather Peach’s Company». Is there anything to it? Mason's horse didn’t think so (p. 189).
>>> 
>>> Susannah is described as the «Sorcerers Apprentice’s lower-born Wife». Which makes Macclesfield the Sorcerer, of course. 
>>> 
>>> Susannah is watching them with curiosity, and Rebekah catches on to something? 
>>> Is it Rebekah who is there to guarantee her husbands behavior?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 21.05 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>> 
>>>> p. 211
>>>> 
>>>> So Mason move into his new Position at the Observatory which sits at the top of a small hill. I tried to find a good photo, but settled for this little etching in the end, from 1833: 
>>>> http://timeandnavigation.si.edu/sites/default/files/timeline-media-asset/1134px-greenwich_observatory.jpg <http://timeandnavigation.si.edu/sites/default/files/timeline-media-asset/1134px-greenwich_observatory.jpg>
>>>> 
>>>> The sight of it has Rebekah associating to secret rituals, folks in capes and hoods and the etcetera.
>>>> 
>>>> I couldn’t find anything on the «ancient Well,- old as Stonehenge», though «Tumuli <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumulus>», which are burial mounds, "to the south-west of Flamsteed House,[6] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich#cite_note-6> in Greenwich Park <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Park>, are thought to be early Bronze Age <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age> barrows re-used by the Saxons in the 6th century as burial grounds.» according to wiki.
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich>
>>>> 
>>>> Flamsteed himself used the well for observation. I saw it in a documentary once, how astronomers in the olden days used still water to observe the heavens above. How would that work in the daytime, though?
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Pynchon wiki:
>>>> Page 211
>>>> 
>>>> Flamsteed
>>>> John Flamsteed FRS (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. From WIKI <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamsteed>.
>>>>  
>>>> 
>>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 20.42 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>>> 
>>>>> About Stonehenge…
>>>>> 
>>>>> «The old stargazers us’d it.» (Mason, p.210)
>>>>> 
>>>>> —
>>>>> 
>>>>> There seems to be a debate as to weather Stonehenge actually was an observatory or not. News to me!
>>>>> 
>>>>> —
>>>>> 
>>>>> That Stonehenge is widely perceived as an 'ancient observatory' is largely due to the ideas of Gerald Hawkins and Fred Hoyle in the 1960s, now largely discredited. However, the solstital orientation is unarguable. 
>>>>> http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubS/cat/pba92.cfm <http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubS/cat/pba92.cfm>
>>>>> 
>>>>> —
>>>>> 
>>>>> «Stonehenge and Ancient Astronomy», a leaflet produced by the Royal Astronomical Society in 2009 states:
>>>>> 
>>>>> "Every aligned structure must point somewhere. Just because a monument points in an astronomically significant direction such as the rising or setting position of the Sun at a solstice, does not mean this was intended by the builders."
>>>>> 
>>>>> "Did the equinoxes mean anything to prehistoric people? Probably not. While the limits of the Sun’s rising and setting arcs were physically tangible, there are no grounds for inherently assuming that people attributed any special significance to their midpoints, either in space or time, let alone to a modern astronomer’s definition of the equinox."
>>>>>  »
>>>>> 
>>>>> "Was Stonehenge a calendar? Probably not. The solstitial axis may be spatially accurate but it is not precise in time, because the shift in the Sun’s rising (or setting) position close to the solstices is small and not easy to measure. Although modern people seek to visit on the actual solstice (21 June) it is unlikely that prehistoric people knew this exact date» 
>>>>> 
>>>>> http://www2.cliveruggles.com/images/cliveruggles.com/documents/ras_stonehenge_factsheet.pdf <http://www2.cliveruggles.com/images/cliveruggles.com/documents/ras_stonehenge_factsheet.pdf>
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> <phoca_thumb_l_CLNR_F02-623aw.jpg>
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 20.06 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> p. 210
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Mason and Rebekah travel by horse to view Stonehenge by moonlight. *jealous*
>>>>>> They have a lovely time by all standards, sleeping beneath hedges, sunset at Midsummers Eve…
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Rebekah is experiencing feelings of familiarity at near the stones, and there is hinting that memory can be stored in the genes, in my interpretation, that we can «remember» ancestral experiences?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> There is mentioning of the M-word, for the first time, and they seem to come to an agreement on this trip, that that’s where they’re headed.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Rebekah knew this already, as we’ve learned, but she seems, taken aback, «abash’d», perhaps by the now reality of it, or perhaps as a part of an act?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> —
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Elsewhere on the page from the Pynchonwiki:
>>>>>> Page 210
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Pillion
>>>>>> A pillion is a secondary pad, cushion, or seat behind the main seat or saddle on a horse, motorcycle, or moped. A passenger in this seat is said to "ride pillion" or may themselves be referred to as a "pillion."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillion <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillion>
>>>>>> "...put people in those wicker things, and set them on fire?"
>>>>>> The Wicker Man was a large wicker statue of a human used by the ancient Druids (priests of Celtic paganism) for human sacrifice by burning it in effigy, according to Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentary on the Gallic Wars). From WIKI <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicker_man>. See the classic 1973 British horror film, titled The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I also feel like throwing in an image of Stonehenge:
>>>>>> <article-1054544-029D30C500000578-943_468x286.jpg>
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 19.31 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> p. 209
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Nabob, meaning:
>>>>>>> Somtimes a picture says it all… 
>>>>>>> http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0EdR8gy0NuM/VJfaCSjPReI/AAAAAAAABOM/3DPP7xmbuDM/s1600/%2BBritish%2Bnabobs%2B8f878ea0803189dcd4867928ffaf1eb9_M.jpg <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0EdR8gy0NuM/VJfaCSjPReI/AAAAAAAABOM/3DPP7xmbuDM/s1600/%2BBritish%2Bnabobs%2B8f878ea0803189dcd4867928ffaf1eb9_M.jpg> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> "An Anglo-Indian <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Indian> term for a conspicuously wealthy man who made his fortune in the Orient <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient>, especially in the Indian subcontinent <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_subcontinent>. It also refers to an East India Company <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company> servant who had become wealthy through corrupt trade and other practices."
>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabob <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabob>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Also an expression famously used by Nixon’s speechwriter William Safire in a speech by vice-president Spiro Agnew:
>>>>>>> http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Nabobs_natter_about_the_passing_of_William_Safire_1929-2009.html <http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Nabobs_natter_about_the_passing_of_William_Safire_1929-2009.html>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I am curious to know, what is the contemporary understanding/use, if any, in the English language today? What sort of associations does it bring forth in you? 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> —
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Elsewhere on the page, from Pynchon wiki:
>>>>>>> Pelhamites
>>>>>>> Followers of Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754), a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of the politician the Duke of Newcastle who succeeded him as Prime Minister. From WIKI <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pelham>.
>>>>>>> Placeman
>>>>>>> British- a person appointed to a position, esp. one in the government, as a reward for political support of an elected official.
>>>>>>> http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_21:_207-214 <http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_21:_207-214>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 19.13 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Next paragraph, an imagined dialogue between Mason and his father as Jerome points out. Do you agree, though, that the last sentence: «All subjunctive, of course, had young Mason gone to his father, this might have been the conversation likely to result.» is over the top. I mean it’s not as if we’ve forgotten it was imaginary from the start?
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Don't you feel a little underestimated as a reader? 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> ;)
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 14.07 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> In the next paragraph we are with Mason an Rebekah, early days. 
>>>>>>>>> We learn how he longs to get away from The Golden Valleys, but what is Rebekah’s agenda? We got the impression in chapter 18 that something was up with her.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> (p. 170-171, she new who he was, a star-gazer. But most telling, on p. 186, «A Pair of Gentlemen came to me one day and said, ‘Here is the one you must marry.’»)
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> So it’s hard not to have this in the back of the mind when we read about their dating and courtship. 
>>>>>>>>> Maybe even explore feelings of sadness for Mason? For being kept in the dark by Rebekah?
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> 12. apr. 2015 kl. 13.43 skrev Elisabeth Romberg <eromberg at mac.com <mailto:eromberg at mac.com>>:
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> p. 207
>>>>>>>>>> «…that the Flow of Water through Nature (…) might be re-shap’d to drive a Row of Looms, each working thousands of Yarns in strictest right-angularity, (…) nor that every stage of the ‘Morphosis, would have it’s equivalent in Pounds, Shillings and Pence."
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Stroud is the capital of the south western Cotswolds and located at the divergence of the five Golden Valleys (Chalford, Painswick, Nailsworth, Slad and Cam), so named after the monetary wealth created in the processing of wool from the plentiful supply of power from the River Frome. During the heyday of the wool trade the river powered 150 mills, turning Stroud into the centre of the local cloth industry.
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Is this first paragraph about the inhumanity of the working conditions at the mills?
>>>>>>>>>> To the benefit of the few?
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> About the working conditions at the mills:
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.bacuptimes.co.uk/earlydays.htm <http://www.bacuptimes.co.uk/earlydays.htm>
>>>>>>>>>> So sad.
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Mills today:
>>>>>>>>>> http://plenty.mangoconsulting.co.uk/assets/files/press/2015/Cots%20Life%20Jan%2015%20-%20Stroud%20mills.pdf <http://plenty.mangoconsulting.co.uk/assets/files/press/2015/Cots%20Life%20Jan%2015%20-%20Stroud%20mills.pdf>
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.visitthecotswolds.org.uk/general.asp?pid=22&pgid=822 <http://www.visitthecotswolds.org.uk/general.asp?pid=22&pgid=822>
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> "Britain from above" showing Fromehall and Lodgemore Woollen Mills and environs, in Stroud, 1938:
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw059695?name=STROUD&gazetteer=STROUD&POPULATED_PLACE=STROUD&ADMIN_AREA=Stroud&ref=49 <http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw059695?name=STROUD&gazetteer=STROUD&POPULATED_PLACE=STROUD&ADMIN_AREA=Stroud&ref=49>
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> 

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