Analysis of Gravity's Rainbow, Part 3 - Chapter 31.2: Arrival at Putzi's, Slothrop's Breakdown, Solange, Marvy and Manuela, the Castration, Dreams of Bianca and Ilse
Solange's encounter with Slothrop is, for my money, one of the most important moments of the whole novel, and one which completely bridges its mystic/magickal elements with the political messages: Leni has already been heavily implied to be into magick/witchcraft and astrology previously, and in this encounter she completely embodies the archetype expressed as the Major Arcana I of the tarot (Le Bateleur) in its most positive connotation: Le Bateleur, as anyone who's into tarot knows, is not just "The Magician" in the classic, Merlin type of sense, but he's also a juggler, a street performer and a straight-up con artist (he's also part of the Preterite, as one can tell; the final chapter touches upon this iirc); in short, one who uses tricks and artifice to enchant others and, in the most positive connotation, to initiate the unitiated (say, through a "pious lie"). And she is in fact lying with her show of hands to Slothrop about "the arrows pointing all different ways" as well as her real identity; yet it is exactly that lie that gets him back up and ultimately saves him from castration. I completely agree with your reading of Slothrop being a representation of the United States as a whole and, following that reading, I see that the mending of the fragmented American spirit (and, with it, a future for the World) lies in these alternate sciences and, most importantly, on the Preterite trusting and helping eachother unconditionally, even if it's through apparent lies or "deceitful" means, to see that in every lie hides a spark of truth. It can also be a meta-commentary, a justification of all the pseudo-cientific elements in GR; "This is magic. Sure -- but not necessarily fantasy" (ch. 4.11.).
Thank you for this analysis. The Tarot stuff in GR has usually been lost on me because I never really delved into Tarot. I do really need to (as well as the Kabbalistic Tree of Life) because I think so much symbolism in this novel revolves around those different mysticisms. Though I did have a friend of mine who is into Tarot interpret Blicero's Tarot at the end, so I'll be using her thoughts in that analysis as well.
Sounds great! But don't force yourself into tarot, I don't think that's a good idea. It may be best to get into qabbalistic studies through the work of Gershom Scholem (whose "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism" I would bet money on being Pynchon's own source initally, and is also just a brilliant book) and then let yourself wander through whichever threads you like and, eventually, tarot.
Solange's encounter with Slothrop is, for my money, one of the most important moments of the whole novel, and one which completely bridges its mystic/magickal elements with the political messages: Leni has already been heavily implied to be into magick/witchcraft and astrology previously, and in this encounter she completely embodies the archetype expressed as the Major Arcana I of the tarot (Le Bateleur) in its most positive connotation: Le Bateleur, as anyone who's into tarot knows, is not just "The Magician" in the classic, Merlin type of sense, but he's also a juggler, a street performer and a straight-up con artist (he's also part of the Preterite, as one can tell; the final chapter touches upon this iirc); in short, one who uses tricks and artifice to enchant others and, in the most positive connotation, to initiate the unitiated (say, through a "pious lie"). And she is in fact lying with her show of hands to Slothrop about "the arrows pointing all different ways" as well as her real identity; yet it is exactly that lie that gets him back up and ultimately saves him from castration. I completely agree with your reading of Slothrop being a representation of the United States as a whole and, following that reading, I see that the mending of the fragmented American spirit (and, with it, a future for the World) lies in these alternate sciences and, most importantly, on the Preterite trusting and helping eachother unconditionally, even if it's through apparent lies or "deceitful" means, to see that in every lie hides a spark of truth. It can also be a meta-commentary, a justification of all the pseudo-cientific elements in GR; "This is magic. Sure -- but not necessarily fantasy" (ch. 4.11.).
Thank you for this analysis. The Tarot stuff in GR has usually been lost on me because I never really delved into Tarot. I do really need to (as well as the Kabbalistic Tree of Life) because I think so much symbolism in this novel revolves around those different mysticisms. Though I did have a friend of mine who is into Tarot interpret Blicero's Tarot at the end, so I'll be using her thoughts in that analysis as well.
Sounds great! But don't force yourself into tarot, I don't think that's a good idea. It may be best to get into qabbalistic studies through the work of Gershom Scholem (whose "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism" I would bet money on being Pynchon's own source initally, and is also just a brilliant book) and then let yourself wander through whichever threads you like and, eventually, tarot.