Difference between revisions of "Chapter 41: 410-421"

Revision as of 12:10, 17 August 2007

Page 410

Nonpareil
from Wiktionary:

1. A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon.
2. A small, flat chocolate drop covered with white pellets of sugar.

his Lordship
Lord Lepton

Page 411

Tallow Dips, and the last feeble Rush-Light
"The first candles probably consisted of dried rushes soaked in grease. Homemade rushlights were commonly used in England as late as 1800 because, although they smoked and smelled horribly, they were so cheap ... Eventually someone discovered the method of making a "tallow dip" with a wick running longitudinally through its center. The wick -- a few threads of flax, hemp, or cotton, lightly twisted or plaited -- was dipped in melted tallow and allowed to cool, again and again, until the candle had a desired thickness."

-- Candles. Nature Bulletin No. 590. Forest Preserve District of Cook County. February 6, 1960

Bloomeries
bloomery -- a forge in which wrought iron is made straight from ore (Wiktionary)

Invisible Hand
“Adam Smith's notion that rational agents guided by their own self-interest would act in such a way as to promote the public interest, the foundation of laissez-faire economics which caused much of the misery associated with the Industrial Revolution” – HyperArts entry: Invisible Hand

Page 414

behave inconveniently
Inconvenience again, see entry on page 401.

Calvert agent
Calvert County Realtors - Calvert Agents In Maryland.

Page 415

Brunswick style
worn with a petticoat, the Brunswick was an informal gown or Riding Habit. A riding habit consisted of a petticoat, jacket, and waistcoat.

wine-colored Cordovan
a favorite boot color of TRP's. There is a "wine-cordovan boot" on page 121 of ATD, also a female's.

French Court heels
Ladies of the French court once carried canes to support themselves on uncomfortable high heels. Heels became lower after the French Revolution, not surprisingly.

Phrygioid if not Phrygian
According to unvarying tradition the Phrygians were most closely akin to certain tribes of Macedonia and Thrace; and their near relationship to the Hellenic stock is proved by all that is known of their language and art, and is accepted by almost every modern authority. -- Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 th edition. Pynchon's wit makes up the word Phrygioid to mean something like "like Phrygian" that is fake Phyrgian due to the prevalence of 'British modality'--preceding phrase.

Page 417

"Tho', I say, look here.....'Great Chain of Being this, Great Chain of Being that,'..."lengthy Chain"..."dangling from its bottom end?"
The great chain of being is a classical and western medieval conception of the order of the universe, whose chief characteristic is a strict hierarchical system.
It is a conception of the world's structure that was accepted, and unquestioned, by most educated men from the time of Lucretius until the Copernican and Darwinian revolution and the ultimate flowering of the Renaissance. The chain of being is composed of a great number of hierarchal links, from the most basic and foundational elements up through the very highest perfection, in other words, God, or the Prime Mover.
God, and beneath him the angels, both existing wholly in spirit form, sit at the top of the chain. Earthly flesh is fallible and ever-changing: mutable. Spirit, however, is unchanging and permanent. This sense of permanence is crucial to understanding this conception of reality. One does not abandon one's place in the chain; it is not only unthinkable, but generally impossible. The hierarchy is a chain and not a ladder.
The natural order, earth (rock) is at the bottom of the chain; these elements possess only the attribute of existence. Moving on up the chain, each succeeding link contains the positive attributes of the previous link, and adds (at least) one other. Rocks, as above, possess only existence; the next link up, plants, possess life and existence. Beasts add not only motion, but appetite as well.
Man is a special instance in this conception. He is both mortal flesh, as those below him, and also spirit. In this dichotomy, the struggle between flesh and spirit becomes a moral one. --abridged (slightly) from Wikipedia

Notice Pynchon's multimeaning playfulness with the "chains" of the Chainmen and, one must think, the chains of the slave trade. This joking on the concept by Lord Lepton seems to touch some deep themes of M & D.

What [creature] dangles at the bottom of the chain? Where does it "fall" if it 'fails to hold on'? One is reminded of the supposedly real witticism as joke about an Eastern creation myth. The Earth is held up by a turtle which is held up by another turtle, someone explained. "And that turtle?" asks the interlocuter. "Another turtle"...."And that one"?......."O No, you're not going to trap me...it's turtles all the way down."

You sound like one of those Leveler chaps
Levelers or Levellers, English Puritan sect active at the time of the English civil war. The name was apparently applied to them in 1647, in derision of their beliefs in equality. The Levelers demanded fundamental constitutional reform—a written constitution, a single supreme representative body elected by universal manhood suffrage, proportional representation, and the abolition of monarchy and noble privilege. Their ideals, far in advance of their time, were those of complete religious and political equality. They were adept at the use of mass petitions and extensive pamphleteering to arouse the public. When the Long Parliament did not respond to their ideas, they tried to build support in the ranks of the army, with some success. --Columbia Encyclopedia

Page 418

Staithes
Staithes is an English village at the most northerly point of the North Yorkshire coast ( 54°33′6″N, 0°48′35″W) . Roxby Beck (a small river) running through Staithes is the border between North Yorkshire and neighbouring Redcar and Cleveland. Staithes, formerly a large fishing community, is known for its sheltered harbour, bounded by high cliffs and two long breakwaters. A mile to the north, Boulby Cliff is the highest cliff in England.

Page 419

Soubrette
a lightweight soprano voice or type of soprano role, frequently found in comic operas or operettas; the soubrette usually possesses a flirtatious demeanor and street wise manner, as in the case of Adele in Die Fledermaus, or is a particularly fetching country innocent, like Adina in The Elixir of Love. Webster's online dictionary.

Page 420

Otick Catarrh

Page 421

Paradise of Chance
Cf. The Chums of Chance in Against the Day.

Annotation Index