M&D Deep Duck Where are all the children?

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Pip's family was so poor, Also Georgiana didn't get her own tombstone. But with chills, infections, and childbirth complications, even wealthy families had an investment in having many children, figuring only a percentage would survive to carry on the family name. Alice is right that there should be all manner of kids, from infants on up in the LeSpark household.

Here's a nice picture (scroll down - it's the second one) of a family grouping in a 17th century Boston cemetery (and, remember, Pynchon describes one such, if not Boston, at least Massachusetts cemetery in GR):

http://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2898-freedom-trail-walk-through-colonial-boston

Laura

-----Original Message-----

From: 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.
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