The Kairotic View of History in Thomas Pynchon's Novels

Gary Thompson

doi:10.16995/orbit.589

Abstract

The Kairotic View of History in Thomas Pynchon's NovelsThe rhetorical concept of kairos (right timing, right proportion, time viewed qualitatively) can expand understanding of points or decisive moments in Pynchon's historical novels. In addition to timeliness, kairos for theologians represents intersection of sacred with profane. Kairos also provides insight into novels' affect, lending rhetorical force to concept from Marx that the point is to change [history]. Following hiatus preceding Vineland, Pynchon's global view of history becomes more restricted, with emphasis instead on smaller social enclaves and human connections.

Highlights

For some novelists, history serves as a backdrop for plots of romance or intrigue, reducing a different temporal setting essentially to decoration
Given the novels’ pessimism about the potential for addressing present or looming catastrophe, we might wonder about the choice of medium
A quixotic hope for the miraculous is set against the probability of “no second chances, no return,” a perspective evident in the longer novels but in the shorter ones as well, as noted by Thomas Schaub: “Except for the way Lot 49 engages the reader, the three novels set in California consistently portray the United States as a system from which there is no escape.” (40) I think we should give weight to the verb engages here and on beyond 49: our engagement, at least imaginatively and perhaps politically, is the kairotic contribution to Pynchon’s rhetorical purpose

Summary

Gary Thompson

The rhetorical concept of kairos (right timing, right proportion, time viewed qualitatively) can expand the understanding of the “points” or decisive moments in Pynchon’s historical novels. Kairos provides insight into the novels’ affect, lending rhetorical force to the concept from Marx that “the point is to change [history].” Following the hiatus preceding Vineland, Pynchon’s global view of history becomes more restricted, with emphasis instead on smaller social enclaves and human connections. Thompson: The Kairotic View of History in Thomas Pynchon’s Novels “To articulate the past historically does not mean to recognize it ‘the way it really was’ (Ranke). It means to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up at a moment of danger.”

Introduction

Kairos and affect