M&D Deep Duck Where are all the children?

[Peter Fellows-McCully]

Reminded me of this:

"The shape of the letters on my father's, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, "Also Georgiana Wife of the Above," I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly. To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine,—who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle,—I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state of existence.”


> On 22 Jan 2015, at 18:17, kelber at mindspring.com wrote:
> 
> I once attended a lecture on the history of public health in NYC, and learned that in Trinity Cemetery (much of which dates from the 17th century), a standard grouping is a large gravestone for the man, and two (or more) smaller gravestones for his wives (serial, not concurrent). As each woman eventually died in childbirth, he'd remarry. Of course, the grouping also contains numerous gravestones for the kids and babies who didn't make it.
> 
> Has there been any mention of Mrs. LeSpark yet? Maybe LeSpark's already working on a new family, or the offspring from the previous one have decamped to Princeton or commerce or marriage.
> 
> Laura
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: alice malice <alicewmalice at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Jan 22, 2015 6:30 AM
>> To: "pynchon-l at waste.org" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Subject: M&D Deep Duck Where are all the children?
>> 
>> Wade warns Wicks against Juvenile Rampage. We begin with the children,
>> the Twins and their Sister, coming in from the snowball fight, the
>> snowballs have flown and starred the outbuildings, their carefree
>> assault upon the kitchen, then ensconced, busied with quiet knitting
>> and sweets, they aim their Juvenile snowballs at their uncle, she with
>> her flouting flirtations, the boys with clever jibes, a cup of brew to
>> agitate. We learn that friends of the children often gather here to
>> hear Uncle, but none are present.
>> 
>> Where is the great brood?
>> 
>> In 1786 the average family would have 7 or 8 children.
>> 
>> We've touched on the economy. The triangle was noted, but what drove
>> the economy's enormous growth was population explosion.
>> 
>> Pynchon's family here seems more like the Simpsons than one we would
>> find in Philadelphia in 1786.
>> -
>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l

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