Part 4 - Chapter 5: Cause and Effect
Analysis of Gravity's Rainbow, Part 4 - Chapter 5: Thanatz Overboard, the Undertaker, the 175s, Thanatz among the Preterite, Thanatz's Story and the Schwarzkommando
“You will want cause and effect. All right,” (663) is the line which Miklos Thanatz speaks to the Schwarzkommando in response to their questioning him about Blicero and the 00000 Rocket. It is also Pynchon’s response to the reader asking for at least some clarification on what all of this means.
But to backtrack, how did Thanatz even get into the Schwarzkommando’s hands (and, since it’s been a minute, who is he again)? Miklos Thanatz was first heard about indirectly, via the name of a dog, Reichssieger von Thanatz Alpdrucken, in Pointsman’s dream of said dog and of Slothrop in comparison to the Minotaur (1.17). Later, when first hearing about the Nightmare film produced by Gerhardt von Göll (3.8), Alpdrücken (also, if you’ll notice, in the above dog’s name), it was revealed that Pointsman’s dream (likely because he was a ‘poinstman’1) called these specific evils into being: those evils being the film and Thanatz himself. Thanatz was first seen in the flesh when Slothrop boarded the Anubis and was discovered to be the husband of Greta Erdmann and potential father of Bianca (3.14). In that chapter, Slothrop witnessed Thanatz and Erdmann pimping out Bianca to the Elites on the Anubis, and he also learned that Thanatz had worked at Nordhausen (and other locations) with Blicero, eventually coming to fetishize the Rocket itself (3.14). After Slothrop slept with Bianca (3.15), Bianca and Thanatz went missing on the ship (3.16), and Slothrop, while searching for her, found Erdmann locked in a room, eventually gaining access to hear her side of the story in regard to her, Blicero, and Thanatz (3.17). In this story, it was revealed that both Erdmann and Thanatz were also at Schußstelle with Blicero2 where they witnessed a forest retaking a bombed-out city. Eventually, here, Erdmann was used in an orgy held by Blicero and other Elites, eventually being set free to find Thanatz again (3.17) which is the ‘journey’ that Slothrop had found her undertaking (in 3.10). Then, after Erdmann’s story, Slothrop, unable to save Bianca, went overboard the Anubis (3.18). It turns out, though we did not know this until now, Thanatz went overboard in this same storm.
When Thanatz went overboard, he was rescued by a Polish undertaker who had some odd paganistic devotion toward Benjamin Franklin, seeking to be struck by lightning because of the riches that Franklin came to due to his own research. But what this man did not comprehend was that Franklin was one of the original Freemasons, someone who had ties with the wealthiest and most powerful individuals of his time and who achieved this wealth not merely out of experimentation that put himself at risk, but because he had easy access to this wealth in the first place. So, his odd devotion, while potentially bringing him harm, really brought him no closer to the level of those who he worshipped. Now, it is important to realize that the etymology of ‘undertaker’ connects directly with ‘entrepreneur,’ thus calling to mind that his worshipping of former wealthy businessmen has led him to this predicament, putting his own life (or at best, his own health) on the line in order to achieve the same heights of these quote-unquote ‘great’ men. These ‘great men’ have set things up so to brainwash coming ‘entrepreneurs’/‘undertakers,’ leading them to believe that it was a requirement for men to put their livelihoods at risk in order to achieve greatness, while in reality, those like Franklin were born into it, having the immediate ability to become a part of the Freemasons from year one. Men like this undertaker will see themselves on ‘the peaks of mountains’, or others as soldiers in German infantry, or sometimes even film directors. But the fact remains is that people like Franklin “‘have been in politics long enough to know that no man in public office owes the public anything’” (664-665). For those who ‘put in the hard work’ such as Jed Plunkitt, a ready subscriber to A Nickel Saved magazine and entrepreneur attempting to sell screen doors . . . well, sorry to say but, “he’s not eligible for membership” (665) to those same societies that Franklin was. However, they certainly tell Plunkitt that he can rise to these ranks with just a bit more of his hard work. And those like our undertaker or Plunkitt will believe this. But as we saw with Byron the Bulb and his cohort, everything has been pre-planned (4.3) — whether that be obsolescence or a readily augmentable and controllable economic system which would never allow these people to rise to such ranks. So, the only option is to do as the Bulbs did: “burned out, a ceilingful of sooty, sterile eggs” (665); or, in other words, to stop working for Them and to stop giving into Their every wish. “But does this Polish [entrepreneur] in the rowboat care about busting this code” (665)? No; he has been brainwashed into the belief that this is more than business — it is religion.
Thanatz is dropped off on shore where he is quickly reintroduced into the Alpdrücken cycle, saved now by escaped prisoners of the Dora camp — the same camp which Ilse, the parallel to his own daughter Bianca, had died in. This group, known as the 175s, was specifically imprisoned for their homosexuality, and was now wishing they were never set free from the camp. Like Slothrop, or like various characters throughout the novel, these men had been conditioned into desiring and even needing to be controlled. In the camps, they were made ‘comfortable’ believing that they at least had a routine and quarters to sleep in. But now, set out in the countryside where there was no one to help them move on, they were in similarly dire straits with no sense of normalcy to hold onto. The concentration camp therefore was not simply a means of extermination, but a means of conditioning these ‘undesired’ groups to seek subjugation if they were ever set free. Thanatz, a ‘God of Death,’ has thus been saved by two parties who have been enslaved to a coming system — one of the corporate order, and one of the social — both brainwashed into desiring something that would ultimately lead to their downfall.
The 175s have developed their own internal hierarchy, giving members specifically named positions based on concentration camp titles, for example: Lager being the head of camp, or the Schutzhäftlingsführer being the actual commander. While each member had their own given position, they had designated the Schutzhäftlingsführer to Blicero himself, showing that, like Slothrop (in 4.1), Katje (in 4.4), and Enzian (also in 4.4), Blicero too had become a part of the post-Zonal mythology. He was the highest form of known oppressor and his story, ranging from the launching of the rockets to the exploitation of prison camp labor, even to his perceived internal turmoil, has become its own Epic. And so, the 175s, being another representation of the conditioned desire for oppression and control, have made the personification of this concept their patron saint, representing the mindset of how post-WWII citizens would view those who were once thought to be evil (i.e. Nazis being readily accepted into society as long as there was an ‘apology’). It could be an inherent desire of being controlled but could even be the sexualization of submission and oppression in order to reclaim what they had lost.
Thanatz, “On hearing the name of Blicero,” (666) is terrified. He had been with Blicero from nearly the beginning, through Nordhausen and even as far as the final launch site at the Heath. But he left this behind — or so he thought. His riding of the Anubis was supposed to be what he had worked for: bringing the world and its Preterite to their knees, allowing the Elite like him to ride on, unhindered, celebrating in whichever delinquent way They desired (i.e. their orgies and pedophilia). Falling off the Anubis represents his being ‘brought back down to Earth,’ and his recollection of Blicero is his suppressed guilt, knowing that the only way to achieve the lavish lifestyle he and his peers had desired was to work for and to submit to absolute evil. And the elevation of the Elite leaves “the preterite, swimming and drowning, mired and afoot,” (667) in the Anubis’ wake. It is not something many of the Elite necessarily desire like a form of vampirism but is a — what They would deem — unfortunate but necessary side-effect. Luckily, the Preterite being in the vessel’s wake means that the Elite could simply forget about them — pretend they don’t exist, or even that they aren’t really suffering. That is, until someone happens to fall overboard and witness the world which they had created. But his reaction isn’t expressed as guilt (though it very much is that), and instead we see him express anger in order to hide away those true feelings regarding what he had been a part of.
Needing answers, Thanatz continues on, now searching for Blicero or at least for answers to his questions surrounding this figure. On his journey, he moves among the Preterite making their way home from the war, the same Preterite who Slothrop witnessed on their journey home when he saw that “The Nationalities are on the move,” (3.25, pg. 549) bearing their burdens with no one to help. And Thanatz is not simply among the Preterite, he been cast down to their level. Any Elite can be thrown overboard on ‘the ship’ (except those, like Lyle Bland, who are highest of them all), and must thus deal with the Hell on Earth they have helped contribute to. They can be cast out purposefully — perhaps because they were no longer contributing to the elevation of the Elite, or because they had done something actively endangering Them — or even accidentally. Unless one’s power is immense enough to render it impossible, certain levels of wealth are still manipulable. Just like Slothrop could, by chance, board the ship, someone like Thanatz could, by chance, be removed from it. We thus see him saved time and time again, captured and “herded into a wire enclosure with 1,999 others being sent west to Berlin” (669). He is carted around on train cars with other Displaced Persons (DPs), “rubber-stamped on hands, forehead, and ass, deloused, poked, palpated, named, numbered, consigned, invoiced, misrouted, detained, ignored” (669) — but wait, isn’t the War over? Is this another train car journey toward a concentration camps? Are these rubber stamps and numberings not the tattoos on the forearms of Jews and other putative undesirables? Have the camps not been shut down? Well, supposedly they have. But in reality, nothing really ended. All of this was to create a sense of normalcy surrounding the carting around, the moving and shuffling, the dooming, of the Preterite. It will continue to occur despite the War being over, just in less obvious and grotesque ways, and with the purported reasoning of supporting these groups but ‘just not having enough resources to do so meaningfully.’
After this, Thanatz was rescued by the Schwarzkommando which is who he is telling his story to. They found him yelling about how he had seen the Schwartzgerät in hopes that someone would find him who is interested. So now, they are interviewing him in regard to what he knew about the 00000 and Blicero. Thanatz recollects seeing Blicero during the launch of the 00000 and seeing the reflection of a windmill in his eyes. The windmill was also seen by Pirate: an image placed in his mind by the ghost of Frans van der Groov while he flew the P-47 over the Zone in search of Slothrop (4.1). Here, with Pirate, it represented a number of things, from Jesus’ cross to a crossroads. But most importantly, the turning of the cross/windmill represented a series of events that would lead to a ‘finished product’ like flour. Blicero, his eyes reflecting a windmill that was not actually there, thus had an innate will to be the one who created that ‘product.’ Because, while the mill is turned by forces of nature, there is someone inside the tower who actually controls what is produced, and Pirate, while flying, wondered, "who tends the stone?" (4.1, pg. 621). Well, Thanatz saw the answer. It was Blicero. His entire project up to this point has been to ensure that the ‘final product’ would be just what he desired.
Thanatz then equates the loss of his daughter, Bianca, to the loss of Gottfried. While this comparison is quite important, I am going to refrain from analyzing it too much since we have yet to figure out exactly what happened with Gottfried. Suffice it to say, Gottfried was another representation (like Bianca and Ilse) of innocence and exploitation, whose fate was brought about by Their desires and goals. Therefore, Thanatz would view these children as a piece of the same puzzle — children who he could have helped but did not (just as Pökler realized with Ilse). Thanatz, Pökler, and those like them, had shortsightedly worked toward Their goals without seeing, or even being willfully ignorant of, what they would destroy in the process.
Through the telling of this story, Thanatz begins having visions of what more was lost besides innocence. He sees Ensign Morituri who, if you will remember, was longing to go back to Hiroshima to see his wife and daughter. But now, that fateful date having passed, Hiroshima was no more. He sees Greta Erdmann, mother of Bianca, also now crawling about in the muck. She was not perfect, even evil at times, but she could have been saved as well. And the image goes back once again to Bianca, young and innocent, raised in a world that forced her to act as she did.
The Schwarzkommando “have their Rocket all assembled at last, their single A4 scavenged all summer piece by piece clear across the Zone” (673). Thanatz reveals to them (though not yet to us) the purpose of the Schwartzgerät, “how it was used, where the 00000 was fired from, and which way it was pointed” (673). This information is everything that the Schwarzkommando need. It is enough to bring disparate groups back together — those who trusted and worked for Enzian, and even those Empty Ones who worked for Josef Ombindi in their quest for racial suicide. The A4/V-2 is what they needed to give them back that common purpose.
Christian, the man who, with Enzian and Andreas, searched for his sister to prevent her abortion (3.21), had a vision of his sister, Maria, the night before. She asked him to forgive those who had wronged her. The disparate views of these sub-sections of the Schwarzkommando stemmed from their lack of common purpose, and now with a purpose, they could move on forward with their quest as one. They now know which way to travel — toward the Lüneberg Heath. Christian and Enzian’s hands brush as they point out toward this location in a sign of trust that may once have been lost, but that has now been rediscovered.
Up Next: Part 4, Chapter 6.1
The next chapter is by far the most complex and difficult to interpret in the entire novel. It is also the second longest behind Pökler’s chapter (3.11). So, this one will be taking three weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience if it happens to be one! Next week’s section will cover the untitled first part along with the titled sections, The Low Frequency Listener and Mom Slothrop’s Letter to Ambassador Kennedy.
The ‘puller/controller of historical branch points’ from previous discussions.
The location he was at with Katje and Gottfried in 1.14.