Fwd: "That masterpiece of self-pity, The Education of Henry Adams"--R. Hofstadter

[Mark Kohut]

"Yes, perhaps that's what happiness is, the self-pitying awareness of our
unhappiness."

--early Albert Camus (in an essay, "*Between Yes and No") *

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 26, 2017 at 6:57 AM
Subject: "That masterpiece of self-pity, The Education of Henry Adams"--R.
Hofstadter
To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>


Assuming TRP read this early in his adulthood, as I think I have heard,
that is
before V even, does one find any essence, or like a condensed
reduction--what's the cooking term?-- of self-pity
in V. from Benny about his adventures?

When he says late in the novel, "offhand, I'd say I haven't learned a
goddamn thing", which some old-fashioned reader-
critics use against TRP, saying Benny doesn't 'develop' (in any direction,
even downward) ,
could this be like the distillation of Adams?

Adams crying the whole book that nobody prepared him for anything in his
America?
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