From: David Buchanan (DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org)
Date: Sun Oct 06 2002 - 21:21:44 BST
SAM: "my question is this: What is Lila for?"
JOHN:
The glib answer, which has been put in this forum before, is that Lila
represents biological quality, Rigel social quality, and Phaedrus
intellectual quality. I suspect that this is Pirsig's intention, and its an
elegant way to flesh out the three levels of quality he identifies that
apply to humankind. Perhaps this is a reason why a number of women have
found the novel off-putting and distasteful.
DMB pipes in:
Right. I'd add that, obviously, Lila also serves to explore the issue of
insanity.
JOHN:
The issue of woman as the judge, who chooses whom she will mate with largely
from a biological standpoint, is raised in Ch 15, and is left unresolved.
Indeed, the close of part 1 of the book is particularly untidy, and
disssolves into a sick 'hangover' where the issue seems to be whether it is
possible to have both intellectual quality and biological quality. Pirsig
sees this in terms of the divisions he has already established between the
different realms of quality, represented by the cells at the biological
level, and the mind at the intellectual level. From the way he wallows
through this issue, I suspect he really has nothing coherent to say. But I
think it does indicate that contrary to what you say about his using the
MOQ provisionally, he has been snared by his own metaphysics into an
exploration of an interface between levels that actually goes nowhere. And
in my mind this is one of the reasons that Lila the character is somehow
unconvincing and 'shallow'.
DMB says:
I'd argue that Lila's shallowness is only consistent with her biologically
centered character. Also she serves as a way to get into Pirsig's own
experience with his sexuality even back into childhood. Remember the
flashback to the streetcar, where the girls laughed at him? Remember his
"recognition" of Lila? He has to ask where she from because she seems so
familiar. The Dancing. Sex on the boat. Later he puts it all together and
recognizes that biological quality had been judgeing him all along. "She"
seems familiar because she's deeply ingrained and always present in all our
lives. In short he shows us what biological quality looks like in himself
and universally, as well as in Lila. I think it goes pretty much where it
needs to go.
JOHN:
The obsession with mental illness is seemingly a constant with Pirsig, and
why not? The doll and the idol allow him to explore further the parallels
between mental illness and genius, or at least dynamic quality in full
flight. But again this raises more issues than it resolves. It is as though
Pirsig keeps getting drawn back to these somewhat obsessive issues, but the
key to any real clarification seems constantly to elude him.
DMB:
I'm so glad you're bringing up the more literary portions of the book. It
would be great to do more of that around here. The doll as idol scene.
HMMMmmm. Your take is lost on me. I think its interesting that he sort of
ministers to her and preforms a ritual with the doll as if it were "real".
He's acting out ancient social level forms to help this biological creature
because intellectual can't help directly. Then Rigel shows up to help.
That's perfect. She needs the social level first, if not more. He's not too
happy about the prospect for Lila as a church-going suburban housewife or
whatever, but its better than pills, electricity, knives, and padded cells.
A happier ending than that would have been false and saccarine.
JOHN:
However the loose ends can't be tucked in neatly enough to escape our
detection, and so we feel an uncomfortable 'dis-ease' with aspects of the
book. I would also include the appalling segments on ruthless destruction of
germs, which Platt so loves, and the Giant that consumes us for some bigger
end, which smells of fascism, plus my favourite, which everyone loves to
ignore, where he trashes the moral values of American Indians in favour of
'urban adjustment'. (Ch 22)
DMB:
I suspect that most of these "loose ends" would disappear if we explored the
other half of the book, the literary half. If we spent as much time and
energy on the scenes and dialogue as we do on the nuts and bolts of the MOQ,
the "dis-ease" would likely be cured. I dislike some of the same quotes you
object to, but I think its a wrong-headed interpetation of them that smells
of fascism. This is beyond the author's control.
Thanks again. Looking forward to more of this kind of thing.
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