Duke University Press

Hofstra University

The Quest for Pynchon

Author(s): Mathew Winston
Source: Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Oct., 1975), pp. 278-287
Published by: Hofstra University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/440565
Accessed: 20-10-2015 11:13 UTC

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 The QuestforPynchon
MATHEW WINSTON

The statements containedhereinare not guaranteed

but have been obtained from sources which we
considerreliable. Pynchon& Co., 1929
Shortlyafterthe publicationof V., a friendof mine noticeda copy of
the novel in a Manhattanapartment she was thinkingof renting.She asked
the currentoccupantwhetherhe liked the book."Yes," he replied,"but you
know--Pynchon's a verystrangeman. He doesn'tallow any photographs of
himto appear.There'snone on thebook jacketand none in the advertising."
"Why,that'strue,"said my friend,"but how did you happento noticethat?
It neverwouldhaveoccurred to me.""Oh,I workforthe FBI," he responded.
"It's my businessto noticethatsort of thing."
The paranoiathatdominatesPynchon's fictionsmaybe justifiedin more
waysthanone. But, fortunately, I foundmyselfmore involvedwithanother
centralmotifof Pynchon'snovels: the quest.In 1974 I spenta summerat
CornellUniversity, wherePynchonhad been an undergraduate. I had been
reading and teaching his novels for severalyears,and I was curiousabout
theirauthor.The memoryof my friend'sstory,Pynchon'scontinuedsecre-
tivenessand myaccessto people who had knownthe writertemptedme to
satisfythatcuriosity and to begin a quest for Pynchon.I assumedthatthe
processof lookingfor information about the mysterious Thomas Pynchon
shouldbe almostas intricate and fascinating as followingthe metamorphoses
of V., the legacyof Pierce Inverarity, the historyof Rocket 00000. The
assumption has provedvalid.Like the movementof the crowdat the begin-
ningof Gravity's Rainbow,and like thatof anyPynchonnovel,my investiga-
tionhas been "nota disentanglement from,but a progressiveknottinginto."
Sincedirectcommunication withthesequestered Pynchonwas impossible,
I startedby consultingofficialdocuments,and I immediately encountered
difficulties.
Some records,such as his Cornelltranscript, are confidential
by

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 THE QUEST FOR PYNCHON

nature.OthersPynchonhas made so; forinstance, he has askedthe principal

of his formerhigh schoolnot to discloseanythingby or about him. Some
documents seem to have disappeared. Information about Pynchon'sservicein
the Navy mayhave gone foreverwhen a recordsofficein St. Louis burned
afteran explosion.And his dossierat theCornellCollegeof Artsand Sciences
has vanished,to the bewilderment of the staffthere.I suspectthatPynchon,
who has takencare to coverhis tracks, mayknowwhathappenedto it.
I also metwithresistance frompeoplewho knewPynchon.One example
will suffice.In the midstof a pleasantconversation withan old acquaintance
of mine,I remarkedthathe musthave been in Ithacaat the same time as
Pynchon.He suddenlyturnedto ice. Only afterthawinghim for about ten
minutesdid I learn that he had once sharedan apartmentwith Pynchon.
But thatis aboutall I did learn.Pynchonhas been eitherunusuallyfortunate
or unusuallycarefulin his choiceof friends, fortheyare as eagerto protect
his privacyas he is. At firstit seemedto me as thougha groupof initiates
guardedthearcaneand ineffable secretof ThomasPynchon, but laterI recog-
nizedthathis friendsdemonstrate theirfriendship by respectinghis aversion
to publicity, even thoughtheymaynot understand it.
If I knew Pynchonpersonally, I probablywould not writethis essay
and displaypubliclythe fragments of his life whichI have gathered.As is,
I am uneasyabout infringing on his privacy,althoughI have foundsupport
in a letterwrittenby one of Pynchon'snineteenth-century relatives,Peter
Oliver, to Nathaniel Hawthorne: "The public lifeof anyman cannot & should
notbe hiddenundera bushel,butis fitmaterial forthemanofletters wherewith
'to pointa moral& adorna tale.' It is onlywhen the sanctityof his heart
is invaded,whenhis motivesare impeached, & his privatecharacter distorted,
thattherecan be reasonablegroundforcomplaint."'
I am also uneasybecausethe natureof Pynchon'swritingscompelsme
to examinemy own reasonsforpursuingthe information I have sought.As
HerbertStencilobservesof his quest for V., "in this searchthe motiveis
partof the quarry." I am not sureI have foundeither,but thehunthas been
enjoyable and exciting,and along the way I have learnedmuch about the
talentPynchonshareswith Stencil,his gift for "inference, poetic license,
forcibledislocationof personality into a past he didn'trememberand had
no rightin, save the rightof imaginativeanxietyor historicalcare,which
is recognized by no one."

The familyof ThomasRugglesPynchon, Jr.,can be tracedback to the

The earliestPynchonon recordis one Pinco,"swornbrother
eleventhcentury.
in war" to Endo,who came to EnglandfromNormandywith William the
Conqueror.His son was "Hugh,filsPinconis,"whose name laterappearsas

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TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE

"Hugh filsPinchonis"and "Hugh Fitz Pincheun."The branchof the family

fromwhichPynchonis descendedwas establishedin Essex by the fourteen
hundreds.In 1533 NicholasPynchonbecameHigh Sheriff of London.John
Pynchon,apparently Nicholas' nephew,obtainedthe family'scoat-of-arms-
perbendargentand sable,threeroundleswithina borderengrailed, all counter
changed-and its crest,a tiger'shead erasedargent.Neither,alas, containsa
mutedpost horn.2
John'sgrandson, WilliamPynchon, broughtthefamilyto theNew World
withhim in 1630. He was a patenteeand treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay
Colonyand a founderbothof Roxburyand of Springfield, whichwas named
afterhis birthplacein Essex.He acquiredgreatwealthtradingin beaverfurs
and was on good termswiththeMohawks,who fora timereferred to all New
Englanders as "Pynchon's men."Williamwas a strong-willed manwhosepique
with the ConnecticutGeneral Court,which had issued a wrongjudgment
againsthim,led to Springfield's
becomingpartof Massachusetts. In his capacity
as magistrate,he presidedoverthewitchcraft trialof Hugh and MaryParsons,
whomhe senton to Bostonforfurther examination. But he himselfran afoul
of the authoritieswhenhe becamethe firstPynchonto turnauthor.In 1650
he publishedin Englandthefirstof severaltheological tracts,The Meritorious
Priceof OurRedemption, whichis in theformof a discoursebetweena trades-
man and a divine.The book assertsthatChristsaved mankindthroughhis
perfectobedienceto God, not through bearingAdam'scurse,and "thatChrist
did notsuffer forus thoseunutterable torments of Gods wrath,thatcommonly
are called Hell-torments, to redeemour soules fromthem."The "common
Errors"which Pynchonwishedto correctwere truthsto the New England
Puritans,who foundhis book "to shaketheFundamentals of Religion,and to
woundthevitalsof Christianity" and who condemnedit "to be burnedin the
markettplace at Boston."3
Thomas Pynchonderivedhis interestin unorthodox Calvinisttheology
fromhis firstAmericanancestorand drewon miscellaneous detailsof his own
familyhistory for the background of the in
Slothrops Gravity'sRainbow.
WilliamSlothrop, the"firstAmericanancestor" of TyroneSlothrop, is a trans-
formedversionof William Pynchon.Both men sailed to AmericawithGov-
ernorWinthrop,Slothropon the flagshipArbella,Pynchonon the Ambrose
or theJewell.WilliamSlothropwrotea religioustractentitledOn Preterition;
"it had to be publishedin England,and is amongthe firstbooks to've been
notonlybannedbutalso ceremonially burnedin Boston."SlothropandPynchon
eachreturned to Englandand safetynot longafterhis bookwas published.
Like WilliamSlothrop, WilliamPynchonhad a son John.JohnPynchon,
trader,merchant and land speculator,
holderof numerouspublicoffices, owner
of mines,shipsand mills,remainedin Americaand becameone of therichest

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 THE QUEST FOR PYNCHON

men in New England;at his funerala sermonwas preachedon "Gods Frown

in theDeath of UsefullMen." His familyproduceda considerable numberof
merchants, doctors,clergymen and academics.One of his eighteenth-century
descendants, JosephPynchon, seemedlikelyto becomegovernor of Connecticut
until he backed the losing side in the AmericanRevolution.Nevertheless,
Josephis important to our storythroughhis marriageto Sarah Ruggles,a
descendant of ThomasRuggles,whowas one of theoriginalsettlers of Roxbury.
Their son,ThomasRugglesPynchon, was the firstto bear the namethathas
remainedin thePynchonfamilysince 1760; he servedas a physicianin Guil-
ford,Connecticut, untilhe was killedby fallingfroma horsein 1796.
The Pynchonsentered literaryhistory,somewhat obliquely,when
NathanielHawthorne publishedThe House of the SevenGablesin 1851. The
novel sets forththe unsavoryhistoryof a familynamedPyncheon(indeed,
Hawthornehad contemplated callingthe book "The Old PyncheonFamily").
Hawthorneknewof no extantPynchons, and so was surprised to receivetwo
lettersof protestfrommembersof the family. The firstto write,PeterOliver
of Boston,fearedthatthe novelmightsullythereputation of the great-great-
grandson of the founderof Springfield,William Pynchon(1723-1789), who
was popularlyknownas JudgePynchonand who had residedfora timein
Salem.4The secondcorrespondent was Rev. ThomasRugglesPynchon,who
was thegrandsonof the Guilfordphysicianand was at thattimerectorof St.
Paul'sChurch,Stockbridge, and TrinityChurch,Lenox.He faultedHawthorne
for "holdingup ... the good name of our Ancestorsto the derisionand
contemptof our countrymen." He explainedthathe was particularly upset
because"ourFamilyCircleis an exceedingly smallone. Probablythereare not
morethan20 personsin the wholecountrybearingthe name,all of whom
are closelyconnectedby blood: and all-known to each other:We knowof
no Pynchonsnot of our own littleband."5Hawthornerespondedtemperately
and even wentso faras to pen a requesteddisclaimerto add to his preface
(which,however, was neverpublished).But his irritationwiththosewho con-
fusedhis fictionwiththeirrealityemergedin a letterhe wroteto his publisher
on June5, 1851: "I have justreceiveda letterfromanotherclaimantof the
Pyncheonestate.I wonderif ever,and how soon,I shallget at a justestimate
of how manyjackassesthereare in thisridiculousworld.My correspondent,
bytheway,estimates thenumberof thesePyncheon jackanapesat abouttwenty;
I am doubtlessto be remonstrated withby each individual.Afterexchanging
shotswithall of them,I shallgetyouto publishthewholecorrespondence, in
a stylecorresponding withthatof my otherworks;and I anticipatea great
runforthevolume."
Despite his literal-mindedness with Hawthorne,Rev. Thomas Ruggles
Pynchon(1823-1904) was a worthyspiritualancestorof the novelistwho

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TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE

bearshis name,forhe was masterof manydifferent fields.He receivedthe

degreesof D.D. and LL.D. and taughtchemistry, geology,zoologyand theology
at TrinityCollege,Hartford,wherehe servedas the ninthpresident.His
numerouspublicationsrangefromThe ChemicalForces: Heat, Light,Elec-
tricity. . .: An Introductionto ChemicalPhysics(1870) to BishopButler,A
ReligiousPhilosopher forAll Time (1889). To mydisappointment, the index
to The ChemicalForcesmentionsneitherentropynor JamesClerkMaxwell,
the inventorof Maxwell'sDemon. Still,the novelistmightappreciatethe
coincidencethat the copy of the book I consultedbears the signatureof
AndrewDixon White,thefirst president oftheuniversity he was laterto attend.
It goes withoutsayingthatthe Pynchonfamilyhistorycontainsmany
such coincidences; in Pynchonland one may almostpresumethat"everything
is connected." Admirers of Dr. Schoenmaker's nose job in V. maynot be sur-
prisedto learnof a Dr. EdwinPynchon(1856-1914), who inventednumerous
surgicalinstruments foroperationson the nose, mouthand throatand who
wrotearticleson "SurgicalCorrectionof Deformities of the Nasal Septum"
and on a "New MechanicalSaw for Intra-NasalOperations."Nor is it alto-
gethera shock,givenPynchon'sinterest in rocketsand in the military-indus-
trialcomplex,to discoverthata prosperous stockbrokeragecalledPynchon&
Co. (GeorgeM. Pynchon, seniorpartner)publisheda book on The Aviation
Industry(1928, 1929) whichprovidedinformation for people considering
"aeronautical investments";its closingwordsformthe epigraphof thisessay.
Byronthe Bulb mighthave been interestedin anotherof theirbooklets,
ElectricLightand Power:A Surveyof WorldDevelopment(1930).
This is the matrixin whichThomasRugglesPynchon,Jr.,the novelist,
lives and writes.His father,Thomas Ruggles Pynchon,Sr., is the grand-
nephewof the presidentof TrinityCollege,afterwhomhe was named.His
motheris KatherineFrancesBennettPynchon, and he has twoyounger siblings,
and
Judith John.Pynchon was born on the morningof May 8, 1937,in Glen
Cove, Long Island,New York. When he was a child,the familymovedto
nearbyEast Norwich,wherehis father, an industrial surveyor,workedforan
engineering firm,was chief of the volunteer fire department, led the local
Republicanclub and servedas highwaysupervisor and then town supervisor
of OysterBay. Thomas,Jr.,was just sixteenwhen he graduatedfromOyster
Bay High Schoolin 1953. He was class salutatorian and was presentedwith
theJuliaL. Thurstonawardas "theseniorattaining thehighestaveragein the
studyof English."
Pynchonwona scholarship to CornellUniversity and matriculated thatfall
in thedivisionof Engineering Physics. He was alreadycamera-shy; fresh-
the
man register forhis enteringclasscarriesa blankspace wherehis photograph
shouldbe. Althoughhe latertransferred to the Collegeof Artsand Sciences

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 THE QUEST FOR PYNCHON

and took his degreein English,he neverabandondhis interestin physics;

"one of his teachersstill wonderingly remembers his apparentlyvoracious
appetiteforthecomplexities of elementaryparticletheory."6
I have hearda rumorthatPynchonwas marriedfora shorttimeduring
his sophomoreyear,whichseems unlikelyin lightof his youth,but which
mightexplainthe presenceof severaldisaffected husbandsin his fictionand
also his leavingCornellforthe Navy the at end of thatyear.Althoughno
information is availableabout this one
period, may inferfromhis writings
thathe servedin thesignalcorps.
In the fall of 1957 he returnedto Cornell,wherehe was "a constant
reader-the type to read books on mathematicsfor fun . . . one who started
the day at 1 p.m.withspaghetti and a softdrink. .. and one thatread and
worked on until 3 the next morning."7 He tooka coursetaughtby Vladimir
Nabokov, who does not recall him, althoughMrs. Nabokov remembers
Pynchon's "unusualhandwriting: halfprinting, halfscript."8He was extremely
unassuming;despite excellentgrades, modestykepthim frompartic-
his his
ipatingin the honorsprogram.A celebratedCornellEnglishprofessor asked
Pynchonto stop by his officeafterPynchon had submittedone of the best
papershe had ever seen. A tall,lanky, mustached young man appeared.When
askedwhyhe was not in thehonorsprogram, Pynchonreplied:"Oh, sir,I'm
not brightenough.I have some friendsin the honorsprogram,and they're
muchmoreintelligent thanI am." He receivedhis B.A. in June1959,appro-
priatelyenough "with distinction in all subjects."
As a juniorand a senior,Pynchonwas on the editorialstaffof Cornell's
undergraduate literarymagazine,The CornellWriter,whichduringthattime
published several stories and poems by his close friendRichard Farifia.
Farifiahad also studied both engineering and English.He was an extrovert
wholikedto stagewhatmightlaterhavebeencalledHappenings, and Pynchon
sometimes One
participated. springday in 1959 Pynchon and Farifiacame to
a gardenpartydressedas F. ScottFitzgeraldcirca1919--strawboaters,Prince-
ton jackets,rep ties-and insistedon carryingout the role all afternoon.
Farifialaterwroteabouta visitfromPynchon, who had cometo serveas best
man at his wedding,in an essaycalled "The MontereyFair,"whichwas in-
cluded in Long Time Comingand a Long Time Gone. He also based an
instrumental compositionon V. Pynchonin turnwrotean advertising blurb
for Farifia'sBeen Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me and dedicated
Gravity'sRainbowto him.9
Most important, Pynchonwrotehis earliestpublishedstoriesduringhis
last two yearsat Cornell:"Mortality and Mercyin Vienna" (Epoch, Spring
1959), "Low-lands"(New World Writing,1960) and "Under the Rose"
(The Noble Savage,May 1961), which in a revisedformbecame chapter

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TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE

threeof V. He also wroteseverallooselyconnected storieswhichforma kind

of picaresquenovel about a down-and-outer named MeatballMulligan.Of
these,only "Entropy"has been published(Kenyon Review,Spring1960);
I am toldthatanotheris setat a revivalmeetingin Virginia.
Pynchon'sveryfirstpublication, "The Small Rain" (The CornellWriter,
March 1959), has not been reissuedor even mentionedin printuntilnow.
The storyconcernsthreedays in the life of Armyspecialist3/C Nathan
"Lardass"Levine,formerly of CCNY and the Bronx,who is approaching the
endof his enlistment. Levineis sentwithsomeothersoldiersfromFortRoach,
La., to set up communications for a crisiscenterat a local college aftera
hurricane has annihilated a Louisianatown.Moved by the collegesetting,or
perhapssimplybecauseit is "timefora change,"Levineis stirredout of his
"closedcircuit"of indifference. He makes"one of thosespur-of-the-moment
decisionswhichit is alwaysfun to wonderabout afterward," travelsto the
destroyed town and helps to collectthe bloated corpses.That eveninghe beds
a collegegirl he flirtedwith earlier;he wearsa baseballcap and smokesa
cigar throughout theirthoroughly unromantic coupling.He thenreturnsto
the barracks, fromwhichhe hitchesa ride fora delayedleave. Having re-
markedthatrain"can stirdull roots"or "can rip themup, wash themaway,"
Levineobservestheraindescending on thetruck,and thenfallsasleep.
The storyseems to containat least some autobiographical elements.
Pynchon's circumstances and Levine'swere (allowing forartisticlicense) very
similarduringthe summerof 1957 when the storytakes place. Moreover,
therewas a hurricane, Audrey, whichdestroyed thesouthern Louisianatownof
Cameron("Creole"in thestory)on June27 ("aroundmid-July") of thatyear.
Many specific detailsof the tragedy are used in the story without change:
townresidents werewarnedin advancebutweretold not to rushtheirevacu-
ationbecausethe hurricane, whichstruckin the earlymorning, was not sup-
posed to arrive untilnighttime; hundreds were dead or missing;onlythecourt-
houseremainedintact;rescueoperations werebasedat McNeeseStateCollege.
Armytroopswere sent fromFortPolk ("Fort Roach") to assist.Pynchon
maywell havebeen amongthenaval forceswhichwerealso present.
When Pynchongraduatedfromcollege,he had his choice of several
fellowships, includinga WoodrowWilson,and was invitedto teachcreative
writingat Cornell.He thought aboutbecominga discjockey,an interest which
emergesin the character of MuchoMaas in The Cryingof Lot 49. He was
considered as a filmcriticbyEsquire.But he choseinsteadto workon V. while
living in Manhattanwith friendsin GreenwichVillage and on Riverside
Drive.Aftersomemonthsof thishand-to-mouth he leftNew York
existence,
to take a job with the Boeing Companyin Seattle,Washington.He worked
forBoeingfromFebruary 2, 1960,to September13, 1962, not as editorof a

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 THE QUEST FOR PYNCHON

house organ,as has commonlybeen reported, but as an "engineeringaide"

who collaborated withotherson writingtechnicaldocuments. He thenlived
in Californiaand Mexicowhilehe finished V., forwhich"he keptone of his
Villagefriends runningto thelibraryto look up data in the World Almanac
of 1948."1oV. appearedto enthusiastic reviewsin 1963 and was awardedthe
WilliamFaulknerFoundationAwardas thebestfirstnovelof theyear.
Pynchon'sfamiliarity withthe distinctive madnessof southern California
is evidentin his secondnovel,The Cryingof Lot 49, whichwas publishedin
1966 and won the Richardand Hilda RosenthalFoundationAward of the
NationalInstitute of Artsand Letters.A need forfundsmay have prompted
Pynchonto releasesectionsof the novelto popularmagazinesas shortstories
-"The World (This One), the Flesh (Mrs. Oedipa Maas), and the Testa-
mentof PierceInverarity" (Esquire,December1965) and "The ShrinkFlips"
(Cavalier,March 1966)--and earlierto publisha storycalled "The Secret
Integration"in The Saturday EveningPost (December19, 1964).
His interestin the interaction betweenwhiteand black,shownin "The
SecretIntegration" and elsewhere,and his knowledgeof Los Angeleswere
broughttogether in "A Journey into the Mind of Watts,"an essaywhichhe
wrotefortheNew YorkTimesMagazine(June12, 1966). One mightexpect
Pynchonto revealsomething of himselfin his onlypiece of nonfiction, but,
althoughhis attitudesare clear and althoughhe describeswhat he saw and
quotespeoplehe spokewith,the piece is remarkable in thatthewriternever
refersto himself.
Indeed,Pynchonhas been extraordinarily successfulat keepinghimself
hiddenfromhis admirers. He has nevergiven an interviewand allows no
photographs to be released(the only photographof Pynchonmade public,
one takenwhenhe was a teen-ager, appearedin New YorkMagazineon May
13, 1974,and was reprinted in Newsweekthefollowing week).
Althoughthe man does not emergeto meet the public,his books do.
The latestwas the monumental Gravity'sRainbow,whichwas publishedin
1973. The novelhad its beginningin a museumin Greenvale,a Long Island
town near Pynchon'shome.Pynchonmay have been led to it by an article
thatwas printedin his local paper,the OysterBay Guardian,on July2, 1954,
whilehe was homeforthesummerafterhis freshman yearat collegeand was
workingfortheNassauCountyDepartment of PublicWorks.It was headlined
"Hitler'sSecretWeapon Displayedat Greenvale."
The dreaded"V-1 Rocket"or "Buzz Bomb,"whichcouldhave
changedthecourseof WorldWar II, is now peacefullyon exhibi-
tionin a privatemuseumat Greenvale,L. I.
The jet-propelled
3?2-tonflyingbombis 17 feetwide and 25
feetlong,and itswar head carried1,000poundsof T.N.T. It was

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TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE

assembledby theArmyfrom"V-1's"thatactuallyfellon England,

andwas laterusedas modelforpresent-day "GuidedMissiles."
Hitler called his secretweapon "Vergeltungswaffe
Eins" or
"VengeanceWeapon No. 1." With it he braggedthathe would
destroy all of England,but thecontinuous
Alliedbombingsof the
launchingrampsdelayedthe actualflightsuntilafterthe D-Day
invasionof Normandy.
The bomb startedflyinginto Englandon June 13th,1944,
and in a periodof 80 daysit destroyed
870,000homes,killed5,817
people,and wounded17,036.It causedthe secondevacuationof
London.
It had many "nicknames":"V-1 Rocket,""Buzz Bomb,"
"Doodlebug,""FlyingBlow Torch,""Robomb,"etc.'1

Gravity's Rainbow,whichwas originally entitled"MindlessPleasures,"l2

was selectedforthreemajorliterary prizes.It sharedtheNationalBook Award
witha collectionof storiesby Isaac BashevisSinger.Pynchon,of course,did
not appear at the award presentation. In his place, his publisherprovided
"Professor" Irwin Corey,a masterof comic double-talk, who acceptedthe
prize amid considerableconfusion in the audience. Gravity'sRainbow was
unanimously selectedby the judges for the PulitzerPrize in literature,
but
they were overruledby the Pulitzeradvisoryboard, whose memberscalled it
"unreadable," "turgid,""overwritten"and "obscene."As a result,no prize
was given.Finally,in 1975,thenovelwas awardedthe HowellsMedal of the
NationalInstituteof Arts and Lettersand the AmericanAcademyof Arts
and Letters,even thoughPynchondeclinedand suggestedthe medalbe given
to someotherauthor."The HowellsMedal is a greathonor,"he wrote,"and,
being gold, probablya good hedge againstinflation, too. But I don't want
it. Please don'timposeon me something I don'twant.It makesthe Academy
look arbitrary and me look rude. . ... I know I shouldbehave with more
class, but there appearsto be onlyone way to say no, and that'sno."

Like Oedipa Maas, I feel I am "leftwith only compiledmemoriesof

clues,announcements, imitations,but never the centraltruthitself."There
arestillmanypathsto exploreanddiscoveries
to makein thequestforPynchon.
I have provideda few signposts.Whetherthe roads theypoint to and the
theyinvolveare worththe journey,I do not pretendto say.The
trespassing
searchconcludesforme,notwitha revelation of ThomasPynchon, butwitha
freshsense of my own preteritespiritand a renewedappreciationof the
magicalinterfacebetweenthe readerand the book.

1 All quotationsfromthe Hawthornecorrespondenceare fromNormanHolmes

Pearson,"The Pynchonsand JudgePyncheon," Essex lIstituteHistoricalCollections,
100 (1964), 235-255.

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 THE QUEST FOR PYNCHON

2 My information about the historyof the familyderivesmainlyfromstandard

biographicalsources;HenryF. Waters,GenealogicalGleaningsin England (Boston:
New-EnglandHistoricGenealogicalSociety,1901), II, pp. 845-867; JosephCharles
Pynchon, Recordof the PynchonFamilyin Englandand America(1885; rev.W. F.
Adams,Springfield:Old CornerBook Store,1898); Hazel KraftEilers," 'At the Sign
of the Crest': PynchonCoat-of-Arms," Hobbies, 73 (February1969), 112-113; and
severaltownhistories,
of whichthemostusefulis MasonA. Green'sSpringfield: 1636-
1886 (Boston:Nichols,1888).
3 JosephH. Smithprovideswell-documented chapterson William Pynchonand
his son Johnin ColonialJusticein WesternMassachusetts (1639-1702): The Pynchon
CourtRecord(Cambridge:HarvardUniversity Press,1961), and SamuelEliot Morison
includesa chapteron Williamin the revisededitionof his Buildersof the Bay Colony
(Boston:HoughtonMifflin, 1964).
4 The Diary of WilliamPynchonof Salem has been editedby Fitch Edward
Oliver(Boston:Riverside, 1890).
5 In a commentary in Waters'GenealogicalGleanings,p. 867, T. R. Pynchon
notesthatfromthe seventeenth-centuryJohnPynchon"are descendedall who bearthe
namein America."
6 FrankD. McConnell,"ThomasPynchon,"Contemporary Novelists,ed. James
Vinson (New York: St. Martin's,1972), p. 1034.
7 LewisNichols,"In and Out of Books,"New YorkTimesBook Review,28 April
1963,p. 8.
8 AlfredAppel,Jr.,"An Interview withVladimirNabokov,"WisconsinStudiesin
Contemporary 8 (Spring1967), 139.
Literature,
9 I was directedto "The MontereyFair" by JosephW. Slade,ThomasPynchon
(New York: Warner,1974), p. 14. Farifia's compositionis mentioned in the essayon
Pynchonin Contemporary Authors, 19-20 (1968), 353.
o10Nichols, p. 8.
11 I havemade severalminoremendations
in thearticle.
12 W. T. Lhamon,"The Most IrresponsibleBastard,"The New Republic,168
(14 April1973), 27.

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