GR and the Source of the Name 'Grigori' (crossposted to Thomas Pynchon subreddit)

[Christopher Elliott]

Dear Pynchonians,

I have checked all the standard reference works* and can’t find a prior
publication of this data: The Second Book of Enoch is the source for the
name ‘Grigori’ and much else in Gravity’s Rainbow.

>From Francis I. Anderson’s translation of 2 Enoch, Chapter 18: “And those
men took me up on their wings and placed me on the fifth heaven. And I saw
there many innumerable armies called Grigori. And their appearance was like
the appearance of a human being, and their size was larger than that of
large giants. And their faces were dejected, and the silence of their
mouths was perpetual.”

A few lines later: “And three of [the Grigori] descended to the earth from
the Lord’s Throne onto the place Ermon. And they broke the promise on the
shoulder of Mount Ermon.”

The name Grigori means ‘watchers’ according to Gustav Davidson in his
“Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels.” The description in 2
Enoch of these watchers maps exactly onto the figures described in GR:
Pynchon’s “watchmen of world’s edge” are hundreds of miles tall, their
faces are “unattached” and “impassive” (p. 217 Penguin).

Furthermore, the detail in 2 Enoch that three watchers descend to ‘Mount
Ermon’ reveals a pun in ‘Casino Hermann Goering’: Ermon/Hermann.

To summarize, 2 Enoch tells us the gigantic Watchers, called Grigori,
descended to Mount Ermon. In GR, the gigantic “watchmen” appear shortly
after Octopus Grigori makes his attack, all within sight of Casino Hermann
Goering.

There are three books of Enoch that form part of the non-canonical
apocalyptic literature. They contain prophecies that were popular in early
Christian culture. It seems to me that this Enochian literature provided
rich material for Pynchon.


   - Alluding to an angelic order of beings called “watchers” amplifies the
   other watching that’s done in GR, especially the cinematic themes. Octopus
   Grigori himself is conditioned to attack Katje using film, for example.
   - The Enochian literature deals specifically with themes of salvation,
   the Elect and the Judgement to come, important ideas in GR.
   - In 1 Enoch chapter 6, some of the Grigori, the fallen angels, come to
   earth out of lust for the “beautiful and comely” daughters of men, take
   them as wives, and defile themselves and the earth with their behavior. The
   theme of powerful men abusing vulnerable girls is pervasive in GR.
   - In the Enochian literature, the offspring of the union of angels and
   humans are the giants (see also Genesis chapter 6). 1 Enoch chapter 7 says
   the giants “consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no
   longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.”
   The giants’ behavior sounds very like the rapacious corporate and colonial
   activity so thoroughly critiqued by Pynchon. In GR the Devil’s Advocate
   asks us to consider that They, our oppressors, are immortal (p. 548
   Penguin). Pynchon might have these insatiable Enochian giants in mind for
   this passage.
   - In the Enochian literature, the fallen angels teach men all manner of
   forbidden knowledge that are thematically important to GR, such as
   armaments, makeup, enchantments, and astrology.
   - On a more granular level in GR, the Enochian literature might have
   inspired at least one name. ‘Semyavin’ is a minor character in GR. His name
   could be read as ‘son of Semyaza,’ where Semyaza is a leader of the fallen
   angels in the Enochian literature. In GR Semyavin is an associate of
   Blodgett Waxwing— while ‘waxwing’ might put us in mind of Icarus, I wonder
   if Pynchon was thinking of angels’ wings here too.

Given the extensive use of angelic images in GR it would be surprising if
Pynchon didn’t consult the “Dictionary of Angels” which was published in
1967. Brian McHale mentions this Dictionary in his 1998 essay “Angels in
America, or, Pynchon’s Angelology Revisited.” He doesn’t appear to link its
contents to Pynchon in any meaningful way.

I was consulting the Dictionary of Angels on another project when I
happened to see the entry for ‘Grigori.’ I immediately made the association
with GR and began this investigation. For those wanting to do their own
exploration, I recommend Tobias Churton’s “The Books of Enoch Revealed: The
Wicked Watchers, Metatron, and the Fruits of Forbidden Knowledge” (Inner
Traditions, 2025) for his elucidation of the source material.

Cheers,

Chris Elliott

Sub-sub-librarian

*Of course, I consulted Weisenburger and the Pynchon Wiki. Also, the
archives for Pynchon-L and Pynchon Notes. Also, works by Fowler, Hume,
Hohmann, Eddins, Mackey, Clerc, McHale, McLaughlin, Plater, Madsen, Hite,
Cowart, and others. I haven’t been able to examine Harold Bloom’s “Thomas
Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow,” in the Modern Critical Interpretations
Series; that’s from 1986 though, so if he had connected GR to Enoch I feel
that would be more widely known. Two other works that I’d like to consult
are Patrick Hurley’s “Pynchon Character Names: A Dictionary” (McFarland,
2008) and Craig Bleakley’s unpublished 1995 dissertation, “Early
Christianity in Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’” The critical
literature on GR’s angels focuses on Rilke’s “Duino Elegies.” If I haven't
overlooked anyone's scholarship, then the influence of the angels from the
Books of Enoch and the broader apocalyptic literature appears to be
untilled ground.