M&D - Chapter 12 - pp 122-124

[Becky Lindroos]

The last 3 pages  of Chapter 12 - 

Page 122

At the dock,  the Sheldon Clock is curious about life in Cape Town so the Ellicott Clocks tries to enlighten “it". (Gender neutral  - the clocks are “it” or “other” or “they,”   not “he" or "she.”) 

“The air is ever moist, as you’d say.”    

*But the Ellicott has only known the rainy season! - so what does that really say about human endeavors to generalize from incomplete bits of information? - Is our context for that info ever really complete? 

** The the Sheldon Clock complains about its physical ailments.   The Ellicott wants to know about the Dutch Clocks and getting along with them.  Sheldon makes some observations including the “Dutch Stolidity of Character” and how they strike each quarter-hour.  It seems Mason and Dixon have different responses to “unannounced Striking.”   There’s some more M&D character info there - interesting - funny.   The reader is getting to know Mason and Dixon as individuals through the eyes of the clocks.   Dixon screams when he is startled by the clock’s sudden striking -  lol!  -  

  (And I’ll bet the info on the difference between English and Dutch clocks is accurate.) 

“Wonderful chatting with you like this. Well! let’s just tick these off once more,— there’re the Rains, the Rudeness of the native Clocks, the Mental Instability of the Astronomer ’pon whom I shall be depending utterly . . . any thing we’ve left out?”  

** They’re going to “tick” them off,  eh?  -  lol - 

**  Sanity is an issue at the Cape, too. 

 “The Gunfire at the Curfew, which has never once been on time,— and might easily lead, in the uncaution’d, to a loss of Sanity.”  

** And the loss of sanity is a whole theme unto its own self here. 

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Page 123

And the Ellicott tries to the Sheldon about insanity at St. Helena in folks other than Maskelyne but he's interrupted as it’s time for the Sheldon Clock to be crated up and stowed aboard ship.  The narrator comments on their relationship to the ocean,  its “Wave-beats”  and the attraction of “Synchrony.”   The Sheldon says he doesn’t much care for ships. 

There’s no time to talk about the Ocean - the big topic for them - and Ellicott doesn’t much want to talk about it anyway. They don’t quite know what it is but it surrounds them - an “undeniably rhythmick Being of some sort.”  -  there’s a metaphor there but …  the waves of time and space and synchronicity?   

**  Pynchon’s personification of inanimate objects is hilarious and pointed (or mayhaps clocks are not really inanimate?).   lol -  

The methods of measuring our world’s space and time - anything else?  (There’s no real standard of measurement for madness.)  How much more info or knowledge does more precision really give us?   

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Page 124: 
“When Dixon and the Sheldon Clock are alone at last...”  Dixon talks to it - mentions his screaming in response to being startled, defends himself kind of. - lol  

** Watch out for the Pox,” Dixon in turn advises his Co-adjutor (Mason), just before stepping into the Boat. - 

“You thought the Cape was something,- this place . . . it’s  . .  risky.   A Fair of damned Souls, if that like.” 

** The ever-present danger of insanity - more here than at the Cape.  Precarious mental conditions of Mason and Maskelyne. 

But Dixon won’t criticize Maskelyne further, and the two wish each other well -

They’re “partners” now - “Jere” and “Charlie”  - to be seeing each other "at Christmastide.” 

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I want to thank you ALL for your great contributions to the discussion - from the role of slaves and women in the book and the Narrator issues to Sisson Sectors and the Enlightenment and scientism stuff - there were links sent and even graphics and far more than that - the ambiance has been great.  It’s been fun.  

Becky 

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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l