Chapter 11: 105-115
Contents
Page 105
The St. Helena...mourn
Paradise lost---and mourned. Thematic?
Page 106
what is never to be named directly
darkness? see page 107. Darkness as the void? See ATD also.
the terrible Authorization?
to murder? by the Seamen? to go aboard ship ???
A closer reading suggests that it is the 'swinging boots', not the seamen, whose destinies include homicide; presumably by kicking victims to death, taking their tempo from the 'Brutal Pulse'.
Page 107
no change here is gradual
A Pynchon motif....rapid change is not good, not natural. And, next line, distances should not be vast....life 'goes for nought" then. see page 122
and the Dutch clocks' "that strike without warning" and their effect on M & D.
Page 109
Black Hole of Calcutta
Guard room in the old Fort William, at Calcutta, India where troops of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, held British prisoners of war after the capture of the Fort on June 19, 1756. See WIKI.
Page 110
In lower-situated imitations of the Hellfire Club
The Hellfire Club was the popular name for a number of supposed exclusive clubs for high society rakes established all over Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. These clubs were rumoured to be the meeting places of "persons of quality" who wished to take part in immoral acts, and the members were often very involved in politics. The very first Hellfire Club was founded in London in 1719, by Philip, Duke of Wharton and a handful of other high society friends. The most infamous club associated with the name was established in England by Sir Francis Dashwood, and met irregularly from around 1749 to around 1760, and possibly up until 1766. Other clubs using the name "Hellfire Club" were set up throughout the 18th century. Most of these clubs were set up in Ireland after Wharton's was dispelled. The club motto was Fais ce que tu voudras (Do what thou wilt), a philosophy of life associated with François Rabelais' fictional abbey at Thélème and later used by Aleister Crowley. Wikipedia
Although here used as a nice periphrase for a brothel or a house of loose morals, note that the Hellfire Club concept is very pynchonian: a place outside the laws and rules of society, hidden away from the eyes of authorities, which has it's own, different kinds of laws. There are many examples of these places all throughout Pynchon's work.
Page 111
Hanging of Lord Ferrers
Lord Ferrers killed Mr Johnson, his land-steward, was tried, condemned for murder and hanged at Tyburn on 5 May 1760. He is the last British peer to die a felon's death. See WIKI.
Page 112
Kalee
Is a planet is Star Wars mythology; the Kaleesh people are hunters/predators to make ceremonial cloaks and war masks, they would most likely enjoy hunting for Silk. See WIKI.
- Probably means Kālī, the Hindu goddess of time and destruction. WIKI
(This seems likely, given the context in which this word is mentioned, and the fact that Mason & Dixon was published in 1997, and the mention of Kalee in Star Wars comes from the more recent films which were released in 1999, 2002.)
Page 113
Mr. Bubb Dodington
English politician and nobleman, see WIKI.
