Abstract

Manipulating the familiar progress/reaction model of the historical romance, Pynchon in "Under the Rose" (1961) studies the evolution of a human, individualistic society into a new, industrial, mechanical, collective society. His tale of intrigue, anchored historically in the Fashoda crisis of 1898, demonstrates that Luddism–a rational apprehension of the machine–may be an appropriate response to the industrialized, mechanized "machine" which has infiltrated the social and political spheres.

How to Cite:

Link, E. C., (1992) “Luddism in "Under the Rose"”, Pynchon Notes , 157-164. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/pn.238