M & D Deep Duck 2 and the Imp

[David Ewers]

But isn't refraining from drink for the duration an expression of sincerity, in a way?  

I think it's funny the way the more honest passages of both letters work to establish doubts in their recipient's minds, while other doubts are (less honestly) suggested as gestures of sincerity on the part of their senders.  It's like the whole dynamic of compound misconceptions between M & D was a sort of self-fulfilled prophesy (to put it strongly), born in self-consciousness and insecurity on both sides (not to mention in writing), allowing for 'amiable' surprises (like page 17's twin 'not as bad as I was expecting' ... lens views?) to happily contrast it, without allowing itself to be fundamentally altered by them.  Both letters also express hope (against hope, I think, so more sincere, but less honest?) that their union will change some problematic bit of themselves.  Mason's melancholia (already practically cured, he practically says...) is more obvious one; but also, is Dixon being hopeful (against his own better judgement of himself?) regarding his willingness to take Mason's (starry) advice about his (Dixon's) (earthly) business?

On Jan 13, 2015, at 3:23 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:

> Yeahp. Here's a choice P made that stands out: Dixon said he stopped drinking
> and went through twenty revisions...and Mason sez " 'twas so sincere
> he instantly
> felt sham'd"...
> 
> How many times have we read of authors rewriting and rewriting to make the work
> appear ...unwritten...as sincere as honest spontaneous speaking? But, it wasn't.
> More appearance/reality screens....
> 
> And, Mason almost thru the letter away... they are chums by chance,
> one might say.
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 8:29 PM, alice malice <alicewmalice at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I read it differently. First, there is the narrative btwixt the
>> letters. So the letters are not merely dropped in by an imp. The
>> narrative exposes the thought of Dixon as he composed and then those
>> of Mason as he read Dixon's letter. Next we have Mason's reply. To
>> ignore the passage betwixt the letters and call it a drop in the
>> mailbox, or attribute them to the mid of the author seems a stretch at
>> best.
>> 
>> On Thu, Jan 8, 2015 at 5:31 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> No that we are finished with Chap 1,--just wait; I'm not-- but I think it
>>> is time for a fresh slate for new responses.
>>> 
>>> Chap 2. Two letters dropped in like they showed up in our mailboxes.
>>> No framing by either narrator. So, the overarching mind behind the story had
>>> to do it, right?
>>> That mind is setting up the first reactions of Mason & Dixon each to the other
>>> in some kind of 'objective' way; Cherrycoke could only hear about the letters
>>> unless they would show him, but that would be later.
>>> And what do we learn?     ----they both admit their relationship was
>>> founded on Deception and Misperception!!
>>> "Imps of the Apprehensive"--see Imp of the Perverse, Poe...
>>> 
>>> The Imp of the Perverse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
>>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imp_of_the_Perverse
>>> 
>>> Wikipedia
>>> The Imp of the Perverse is a metaphor for the urge to do exactly the
>>> wrong thing in a given situation for the sole reason that it is
>>> possible for wrong to be done.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The Imp of the Perverse (1845) - Wikipedia
>>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imp_of_the_Perverse_(short_story)
>>> 
>>> Wikipedia
>>> "The Imp of the Perverse" is a short story that begins as an essay
>>> written by 19th- century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe.
>>> It discusses the narrator's ...
>>> 
>>> The Imp of the Perverse by Edgar Allan Poe - Poestories.com
>>> poestories.com/read/imp
>>> The full text of The Imp of the Perverse by Edgar Allan Poe, with
>>> vocabulary words and definitions.
>>> -
>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>> -
>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
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> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l

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