Dear re-re-re-readers:
Pirsig ends chapter three by saying "And as Phaedrus' studies got deeper and
deeper he saw that it was to this conflicct between European and Indian
values, between freedom and order, that his study should be directed." We
sort of know it'll be the over-arching theme even before he tells us so
explicitly. And in yesterday's post, I tried to show this theme as it was
addressed in the smaller details. It seems to me that between the smallest
details and the broadest over-arching concept, there are two middle-sized
themes. One is very tied up with the issues of freedom and order, the
European/Indian dicotomy in America, which vaguely resembles the
classic/romantic split. The other is Lila and her sexual encounter with the
Captain, which will be the main topic of this post.
First, just a little bit about the freedom of Indians and the order of
Europeans... I think its safe to say that most Americans who contemplate
such issues are operating on the assumption that freedom and equality are
inventions of the European Enlightenment. I was struck again at the
profundity of Pirsig's re-assement of that assumption. Essentially, he says
that European thinkers absorbed those values from the Americian Indians. Its
nearly impossible to overstate the power of the idea of the "noble savage"
upon the European imagination and as soon as Pirsig said it, I knew it was
true, even though I didn't know that I knew it was true, you know? One could
almost say that the French and American revolutions were caused by the fact
that there were no fences or borders on the North American plains. Almost.
As far as we know, the plains Indians were as free as any people ever were.
This struggle seems to re-appear in many of the historical struggles that
Pirsig will discuss later in the book. I think John Brown actually grew up
and came from the plains of Kansas, but I'm not sure about that. WWI was
definately about the fall of the old European order and Hitler was certainly
no friend of freedom and equality. In short, this European/Indian thing
ain't just about Americans, its about Western civiliation as a whole and you
know its gonna have a huge impact on our understanding of the meaning behind
Pirsig's social level patterns.
Nuff of the noble savage, now for nookie.
DO A LITTLE DANCE
MAKE A LITTLE LOVE
GET DOWN TONIGHT
GET DOWN TONIGHT
I bet Rigel just hates that song. It's tacky, loud, crass and vulgar, just
like Lila... Hell, KC and the Sunshine Band is a real group like the
Archies, the Monkeys and the Partridge Family. Yuk! Pastey, dorky white guys
singing black ghetto tunes. KC is among the JUNK that the Canadians either
love or hate, just like Lila...
"She had the usual junk cosmetics; blond tinted hair, red nails, nothing
original, except that it all came out X-rated"
We learn that she's also lacking in social skills too. She's apparently
inconsiderate and oblivious to other people and folks at the bar have to
shout, "CLOSE THE DOOR!" several times before she responds. She's caused a
scene before she even gets through the door!
But in spite of all that, "something about her really held his attention.
Sex, he guessed. ... You just sort of felt instantly right away without
having to think about it what it was she did best." Get down, get down, get
down tonight, baby.
Did anyone else recognize their own experience in the pick-up scenes? Have
you ever had sex with a stranger? Ever get down with a person that otherwise
held no interest for you whatsoever. Ever woke up with regret, self loathing
and an urge to vomit? That's the way,uh huh, uh huh, I like it. Sure you
have. Its a cliche'. Its an ancient dance, much older than disco or juke
boxes.
"Some X-rated thoughts passed through his mind. Whatever it was that's
aroused by these cues isn't put off by any lack of originality."
He's laying the groundwork for biological value patterns and hinting at
their obliviousness to the concerns of higher levels. Sex has its own power
and we could hardly exist without it, so we just can't have a complete
metaphysics without an explaination of its place in the order of things.
Also, because the book is an inquiry into morals, and since he's trying to
tell us that everything is Quality, the choice to make a her the center of
it all is rich with challenge, yet realistic and practicle.
And ultimately I think that the answer to the main question, "Does Lila have
quality?", is simply "Yea, she's sexy. She has alot of biological quality.
She oozes it. She made me put my book on hold and almost ruined my trip,
just for a night in the sack. It made a bit of a degenerate out of me, but
you gotta respect the power of it." (I made that up. It's just dialogue, not
a quote.) I don't want to get ahead of the story, but these scenes will help
to answer the big questions if we continue.
I thought the most curious and interestig thing about his sexual attraction
to Lila was the intentional ambiguity. He says "my God, it was HER, the one
on the streetcar". But then we learn that she's never been to the midwest,
so it couldn't really have been her. We get this impression that the bar
lady is a particular and temporal version of a broader and timeless reality,
as if sexiness were something in it own right and we only participate in it
for a time. He keeps thinking he's seen her before even though he now knows
that's not really possible and the she asks him "Where have I seen you
before?"
"and that's what started the illumination. It was stronger toward the center
of her face but it didn't come FROM her face. It was as though her face were
on the center of a screen and the light came from behind the screen."
He's talking about the Dharmakaya light! He's telling us that she's dynamic
or that she makes him dynamic or something like that, eh? He's putting the
holy light of the virgin mother the halo of the savior around the presence
of a bar slut!? Cool. That little detail just blew me away this time, and
here's another one that rocked me...
She said, "I saw Richard in Rome and Amsterdam but I didn't see you."
Maybe I'd be reading too much into this little line, but I think it speaks
volumes. Anyone else see it? If I say any more, it might influence your
impression and I'd really like to know if anyone sees it without any outside
influence.
Or how about that scene where the two lawyers are having sex with the
alligator and the snake? What do you suppose that was all about?
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