By the time the fire was under control, the exhaustion and confusion were too advanced for anyone to notice as Merle and Roswell slipped away.
* * * * * * * * * *
Notice Pynchon never alludes to how the fire started. But if you follow the money (the money in this case is just somebody benefitting from the fire), we must assume it was set by Merle or Roswell. Probably Roswell since previous mentions of Merle rescuing other Ætherists (like Ed Addle) without a story of a fire leads one to assume Merle could handle it without nearly killing everybody. Also, Roswell seems like the kind of cynical jerk who would risk other people's lives, limbs, and properties to gain something he desired, like, um, freedom.
But I don't think that's the point of this line, to encourage the reader to see Roswell Bounce as an arsonist. I'm sure the fire is a metaphor for Michelson and Morley's null result, the exhaustion and confusion a metaphor for the scientific community's response to the mortal wounding of Æther, and Merle and Roswell slipping away a metaphor for life going on in spite of drastic changes to one's environment, lifestyle, or culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment