A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. However, the thesis incorporates, to the extent indicated below, material already submitted as part of required coursework and/ or for the degree of: Masters in English Literary Studies, which was awarded by Durham University. Sign ature: Incorporated material: Some elements of chapter three, in particular relating to the discussion of teeth and dentistry, formed part of an essay submitted for my MA at Durham CniYersiry. This material has, however, been significantly reworked and re,,ised srnce then. Dismantling the face in Thomas Pynchon’s Fiction Zachary James Rowlinson Submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy University of Sussex November 2015 i Summary Thomas Pynchon has often been hailed, by those at wont to make such statements, as the most significant American author of the past half-century. What is indisputable about this simultaneously beguiling and frustrating, prodigiously sophisticated and irrevocably juvenile, not to say admired and reviled writer, is that his fiction has inspired critical readings that are now as appositely voluminous as his novels themselves. Yet no prior critical effort does full justice to the importance of the face in the work of this notoriously “faceless” author, who even had a brown paper bag over his head when depicted in cartoon form on The Simpsons. In light of this oversight, this thesis seeks to address what might be called—to borrow from his 1990 novel, Vineland—the ‘not-yet-come-to-terms- with face’ in Pynchon’s corpus. Though always driven by the workings of Pynchon’s writing, various theorists— such as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Erving Goffman, and Emmanuel Levinas— are called-upon throughout this study in order to aid the conceptualisation of this ‘not-yet- come-to-terms with face’. Particular inspiration is taken from Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s call to ‘dismantle the face’ in A Thousand Plateaus. Albeit not in strict adherence to this summons, the first three chapters of this project butcher the face into its dominant component features: eyes, nose, and mouth. These features—as well as the central issues of the final two chapters, the mask and the face respectively—are then traced across Pynchon’s entire oeuvre, including his most recent novel, Bleeding Edge, published when this project was already underway. What emerges is a picture of the integral role the face plays in Pynchon’s manifold concerns: surveillance, surgery, dentistry, identity, cinema, drugs, the senses, and so on. This thesis ultimately contends that although frequently defaced and effaced in Pynchon’s writing, the face is nevertheless a prime locus at which ethical and political possibility surface. ii Contents Acknowledgments iv Abbreviations + note on the text vi Introduction: 1 i) ‘not-yet-come-to-terms-with face’ 5 Chapter One: Pynchon’s Eyes 24 i) ‘The Unsleeping Eye’ 28 ii) ‘just a recording eye’ 31 iii) ‘eyes with no life’ 33 iv) ‘eyes staring straight ahead, unseeing’ 36 v) ‘brimming slash-slash of eyes’ 38 vi) ‘eyes about to spill over with tears’ 42 vii) ‘an eye (…) subject to visions’ 46 viii) ‘the cognizant eye’ 52 Chapter Two: Pynchon’s Noses 56 i) ‘So now, 800 for a nose job’ 59 ii) ‘the unsettling presence of nasal desire’ 68 iii) ‘something invisible’s going on, tha must feel it, smell it. ?’ 78 Chapter Three: Pynchon’s Mouths 87 i) ‘a wide-open human mouth, mortal, crying, screaming’ 90 ii) ‘the Mouth lately has been too much in service’ 96 iii) ‘God help us all, Dentists on trampolines’ 101 iv) ‘So show us a smile that’s shiny bright’ 106 v) ‘That’s no smile. No. That’s no smile’ 109 Chapter Four: Pynchon’s Masks 112 i) ‘But another part—an alternate self?’ 115 ii) ‘a world in which masks [are] the real, everyday faces’ 124 iii iii) ‘her face is somewhere else, painted on canvas’ 129 iv) ‘her face is somewhere else, painted on canvas’ 134 Chapter Five: Pynchon’s Faces 141 i) ‘a closeup of a face?’ 144 ii) ‘the simple affect of fear and the effacement of faces in nothingness’ 153 iii) ‘the compound affect of desire and astonishment … and the turning 158 of faces in the open, in the flesh’ Conclusion: 168 i) ‘a face we all know’? 170 Works Cited 177 iv Acknowledgements My profuse thanks must go, first and foremost, to the supervisor of this thesis, Doug Haynes. Doug’s insights, guidance and unfaltering support, from the very beginning of this project, and through the good times and the bad, have been invaluable in steering this thesis to its hard-fought close. I am profoundly grateful for his advice and assistance, in addition to the many laughs he has provided, throughout this time—thank you, Doug, it has been a pleasure. I would like to express my gratitude to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding this study and to the School of English at Sussex for providing me with the space and resources to carry it out. I extend thanks to particular members of this department—Daniel Kane, Sue Currell, and Graeme Pedlingham—for both reading and commenting upon portions of this thesis, as well as offering helpful general direction, in the annual review stages. I thank all the administrative staff in the School of English, especially Laura Vellacott, who has been unwaveringly supportive during my time at Sussex. My research has undoubtedly benefited from the teaching opportunities and experience I have had whilst completing my PhD, so I am very appreciative of the contributions Denise deCaires Narain, Gerard Gunning, Steph Newell, Catherine Packham, Martin Ryle, and Tom Wright have made to my development in this regard. Above all, profound thanks are due to Bill McEvoy, who has provided innumerable nuggets of advice and guidance, in matters both academic and non-academic, during more than the odd tea-break. In many ways, this thesis owes its conception to the generosity and enthusiasm of my tutor at Durham University, Samuel Thomas. More than any teacher I have ever had, he instilled in me the confidence without which I would never have embarked upon on doctoral study—thank you, Sam. I would also like to thank Sam for organising the first International Pynchon Week I attended in 2013. Not only did his typically warm response to my paper further the self-belief he had already fostered, but the event itself gave me the opportunity to attain valuable feedback from the vibrant network of Pynchon researchers. My thanks are due to those members of the Pynchon community who have (always graciously) asked a probing question, offered words of advice, suggested further avenues of exploration, or just exuded enthusiasm at the two International Pynchon Weeks I have attended: Richard Moss, Joanna Freer, Joel Roberts, John Krafft, Kathryn Hume, George Twigg, Xavier Marco del Pont, Simon de Bourcier, Sascha Pöhlmann, Kostas Kaltsas, Sebastian Huber, Abeer Fahim, Umberto Rossi, Michael Harris, Jeff Severs, Jen Backman, v Russell Backman, Eric Sanders, and Foteini Dimirouli. Yorgos Maragos and Ali Chetwynd are included in this group but deserve particular thanks for their organisational efforts in Athens. A specific acknowledgement is likewise directed to Martin Eve, who I have called on for advice, whether on this thesis’s funding proposal to all things Open Access, a number of times over the course of my doctorate. I have been extremely fortunate to spend my time at Sussex surrounded by a great bunch of PhD students—Shanyn Altman, Camilla Bostock, Laura Gill, Lana Harper, Katherine Harris, David Hull, Laura Joyce, Joe Luna, Kiron Ward, Carina Westling—all of whom have helped to create a lively and welcoming research environment. In particular, I simply would not have got through the last few years had it not been for the unfailing ability of the following to lift my spirits: Diarmuid Hester, Tom Houlton, Mike Jones, Joe Ronan, Mike Rowland, and Dominic Walker. Thank you, guys. I would like to thank Joanna Kellond for reading and editing conference papers, believing in this project, and for the many good times we had. A number of these were shared with Bobby T, Chani, Christophe, Kim, Quig, and Charlie Brown, all of whom I thank as well. A thank you to those who helped to bed me in to life in Brighton—Meghan Coleman, Lydia Hughes, Romén Reyes-Peschl, and Heather Stein—as well as to those who have provided fun times since: Mel Baker, Nehaal Bajwa, Rob Dawson, and Jonny Parlett. The following friends have, at one point or another, made valiant contributions to the maintenance of my sanity in the past few years: Mattkinson, Codface, Tink Tonk, Georgie G, Wheatles, Steinson, Wasteman T, Socky, Andreamer, Joaquín Madcap, Annie, Shaky, Jaxxy, Barton Fink, Mamblino, Shentown, Rogo, Manup, Onders, Nellington, Mr. Drey, Ranroodle, Poupsi doo dars, and Dave. An especially heartfelt thank you to those who have lived with me at certain points: Vincent Howard, Edwina Simon, and Mateja Gosenca.