CoL49 - Hilarius’ confession

[J K Van Nort]

Just before the police arrest Hilarius, as Oed points his gun at him, the Nazi war criminal tells her to hold onto her fantasy, not to let the Freudians "coax" it out of her or the pharmacists "poison" her fantasy. He discusses his attempts to be a Freudian "believer" in an act of penance for his crimes at Buchenwald. It's been suggested in this group reading that Pynchon may be critiquing or joking about psychiatry and its influence in the post war era. Why does his critique come from a Nazi doctor? How does this amplify or negate the critique?

In solidarity,
James

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