Ætherists possessed to this degree usually ended up for a stay in Newburgh, from which it became necessary to break them out, Merle after a while becoming known as the fellow to see, once he'd developed a relationship with elements of the staff out there who did not mind an escapee now and then, the work-load being what it was.
* * * * * * * * * *
"possessed"
As defined by Merriam-Webster: "controlled or overwhelmingly influenced by something (such as an evil spirit, a passion, or an idea)" In this case, as this is a Pynchon novel, it's probably an evil spirit.
Wouldn't be great if it were an evil spirit? Not that the reader would ever find out because as soon as Pynchon gets this idea on the page he's moving on to a short little drama about Ed Addle escaping Newburgh. I think.
"Ætherists possessed to this degree usually ended up for a stay in Newburgh"
Was it Isaac Asimov, the well-known Con Groper, who once said that thing about there being no difference between magic and science advanced past a population's understanding (like microwave ovens)? Pynchon seems to suggest a similar thing (or he's playing off a standard trope, I suppose) that genius simply looks like madness to the dimwitted and dull.
"from which it became necessary to break them out"
Knowing that they're just eccentric fans of Æther and not hand-tucked-in-shirt Napoleon-wannabes, Merle and his new friends can only see it as justice to break them out of the insane asylum. If not for Merle, they'd have to wait until one of the inmates convinced another inmate that he wasn't actually small and could throw a sink through a window to escape. And who has time for that?!
"once he'd developed a relationship with elements of the staff"
Pynchon doesn't go any more into how Merle became friends with people on the inside at Newburgh, possibly because we already have all of the information we need. Merle's a good guy who easily socializes with others. Maybe he met them at a bar. Maybe at the brothel. Maybe he just went up and introduced himself because the cops kept throwing his new friends, guys like Ed Addle, into the asylum simply because they didn't like the looks of them and couldn't comprehend any of the scientific talk.
"the staff out there who did not mind an escapee now and then, the work-load being what it was"
I'm beginning to understand that Cleveland in 1893 was full of lazy people willing to take a bribe if it meant they get another cigarette break. I bet Cleveland is still like that! Laziest population in America is what I heard! Sometimes they can't even bother to go to the toilet when they're engaged in coitus!
No comments:
Post a Comment