Two failed scientists: Tiempo de silencio's Pedro and Pynchon's Pointsman

Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos. n• 2 ( l 193). pp. 53-63 TWO FAILED SCIENTISTS: TIEMPO DE SILENCIOS PEDRO AND PYNCHON'S POINTSMAN CAROLE A. HOLDSWORTH Loyola Uni e si y, Chicago In 1962 he Spanish psychia is and su geon Luis Ma ín-San os ( 1924-1964) published bis i s , and only comple e, no el, Tiempo de silencio; g ee ed as «una no ela i epe ible» (Domenech 4), he wo k is now conside ed « One o Spanish li e a u e 's ue con empo a y miles ones» (F anz 324 ). In 1973 he Ame ican w i e Thomas Pynchon (b. 1937) published bis hi d no el, G a i y' s Rainbow, ecen ly desc ibed as «pe haps he mos impo an wo k o ic ion o he second hal o he cen u y» (Mchoul and Wills 23). I is he pu pose o his s udy o compa e he p esen a ion o wo cha ac e s om hese no els; he cha ac e s chosen a e Tiempo de silencio's p o agonis , don Ped o, a y oung cance - esea che , and Edwa d Poin sman, one o he p incipal an agonis s o G a i y's Rainbow, a Pa lo ian beha io is and Fellow o he Royal College o Su geons. Don Ped o (his amily name ne e appea s in he ex ) and Ned Poin sman a e alike in many ways; Lhe e a e also ela ed aspec s o he wo ex s which e ea! ma ked pa allels, pa icula ly he ea men o he heme o science and he p eoccupa ion wi h human eedom. This s udy seeks o illus a e he ollowing s a emen o Tz e an Todo o : «a wo k in i s en i e y can ne e be ead in a sa is ac o y and enligh ening ashion i we do no pu i in ela ion wi h o he wo ks, p e ious and con empo a y» (244). The « ela ion» be ween Ped o and Poin sman is a an alizing one. Acco ding o Ramón Buckley, he «anécdo a misma» o Tiempo de silencio can be s a ed in a ew wo ds: he no el is «la his o ia de un homb e que quiso se in es igado cien í ico y acasó» (207). Ped o, o ced o abandon bis admi edly unp oduc i e cance - esea ch a he Ins i u e because o his in ol emen in a bo ched abo ion, l ea es Mad id a he close o he no el o ege a e as a p o incial physician. 54 Ca o/e A. Holdsw o h The plo o G a i y' s Rainbow. a much longe ex han is he Spanish no el, does no lend i sel o so b ie a summa y, ye Poin sman 's des iny clea ly e sembles Ped o 's: he beha io is ' s esea ch ha ing ailed a e a bo ched cas a ion a emp , he is inally « es ic ed o one small o ice ... o icially in disg ace» (GR 716 ). Bo h men a e i isec ionis s, bo h wo k in a labo a o y which ea u es expe imen s wi h dog s (al hough Ped o 's own expe imen s cu en ly cen e upon nice), bo h e o e he lack o unding, and bo h - his is impo an and will be de e loped la e - would be willing o use humansubjec s i necessa y (in Tiempo de silencio, he younggi l Flo i a who has been aising mice s olen om he Ins i u e; in G a i y' s Rainbow, he hapless p o agonis , Ame ican lieu enan Ty one Slo h op, who se sexual encoun e s inexplicably p ecede he s ikes o he V-2 ocke s). Beyond he gene al plo ou lines, he e a e o he simila i ies. G a i y' s Rainbow opens wi h Pí a e P en ice 's d eam o e acua ing he bombed ci y o London; a bi la e , Slo h op wande s h ough Ge many du ing he desola e inal mon hs o Wo ld Wa 11 , while he Ge man ocke -enginee Pokle unknowingly wo ks nex doo o he concen a ion-camp Do a. (The ac ion o h e long no el o cc u s du ing 1944-45.) Al hough Ped o' s misad en u es aken o iew: «E a un cuad o ealmen e muy malo ... se habían e p esen ado las uinas bambalinescas de una ciudad bomba deada» (73). Ped o eac s o he pain ing as «un p esun o Dachau mas u ba o io,» while his iend Ma ías ells him h a «Nada me ha eco dado más las cáma as de gas» (72). Ano he s uc u al simila i y is he inclusion o Wa/pu gis na ch episodes. No elis Juan Bene , a iend o Ma ín San os, has w i en ha he psychia is belie ed i necessa y o « oda ob a li e a ia de en e gadu a» o include such scenes, which in Tiempo de silencio ake he o m o wo b o hel isi s «e n obediencia al canon impues o po Mabbo S ee » ( 123). In addi ion o se e a! b o hel scenes o G a i y' s Rainhow, Slo h opand he young wi ch Ge li celeb a e Walpu gisnac h on he B ocke n, al hough his occu s echnically «nea ly a mon h la e» (383). The e a eo he p a allels. As men ioned ea lie , Slo h op h as come o Poin sman' s a en ion be ca use a map o hi s ecen amo ous ad en u es exac ly ep oduces he loca ions o V-2 s ikes. Th is is e y odd, since wi h he ocke i is «Explosion i s , h en he sound o app oach» (99). ln his a mous closing monologue, Ped o commen s: «Es un i empo de silencio. La mejo máquina e i caz es la que no hace uido» 2 38). Bo h au ho s make men ion o ou wo cha ac e s as caugh in a laby in h. Poin sman has wande ed in o «a laby in h o condi ioned e lex w o k» (1O1; he me apho ex ends h ougho u he book); he na a o desc ibes he p ison in w hi ch Ped o spends a sho ime as « an cu ioso labe in o» ( 172).1 While in hi s cell, wi h i s na ow s one 1. The exp ession « an cu ioso labe in o» occu s o en in Spa nish Golden Age wo ks. My a icle «Fa e ul Laby in h s: La i·ida es s 11 e1 in and The C y in g n Ln 49,, ( The Co mp a a is 7 [1 983]: 57-72) deals in pa wi h he laby in h i gu e in Calde ón and Pynchon. Two Failed Scien is s: Tiempo de silencio' s Ped o and Pynchon' s Poin sman 55 co , Ped o s a es a a wall, upon which he e en ually d aws a me maid ( 177). Poin sman's oom in The Whi e Visi a ion has a na ow co nex o a wall «habi ually blank» ( 159), bu ins ead o d awing, he d eams. Bo h cha ac e s alk o hemsel es in momen s o high s ess (TDS 177, GR 323). A majo s uc u al simila i y is wha one migh call he «Nobel P ize/dogs» mo i . Ped o and Poin sman sha e an obsessi e desi e o win a Nobel P ize o hei espec i e esea ch e o s. Ped o's labo a o y con ains a po ai o Ramón San iago y Caja!, who won he Nobel P ize o Medicine in 1906. Ne e e e ed o by name in he ex , «el homb e de la ba ba» who «lib ó al pueblo ibe o de su in e io idad na i a an e la ciencia» (7) haun s Ped o, as do he dogs who a e o ced o sha e he labo a o y wi h he exal ed po ai : «Y las posibilidades de epe i el ges o o pe del seño de la ba ba an e el ey al o se ían ya no o almen e inexis en es, como aho a, sino además g o escas» ( 10). Du ing his inal monologic ambligs, he ouches u pon «la i isección,» hen he «pa abienes del ey de Suecia» (235). In his um, Poin sman, who i s appea s on he scene wi h his oo caugh in a oile -bowl du ing a noc u nal dog-chase, d i s o o sleep, a e mas u ba ion, hinking o S ockholm and « he yellow eleg am» (164-65). When we las encoun e him in his d ea y Sub-minis y o ice, he is su p ised o ealize ha he ac ually misses he «pack o slobbe ing cu s,» like Ped o associa ing hough s o he dogs2 wi h «a ls Iock back a he doo o S ockholm»(878). Ped o o en hinks o he Nobel P ize in conjunc ion wi h he po ai o Ramón y Caja!, while o Poin sman i is he ci y o S ockholm which comes mos o en o mind. Fo bo h o ou ailed scien is s, howe e , he oad o scien i ic glo y would o necessi y be pa ed wi h he su e ings o o he sen ien beings, ic ims o he would-be ic o s. Tu ning now o a compa ison o he psychological p o iles o ou wo subjec s, i is appa en ha hey a e much alike. A p ison o icial in Tiempo de silencio ells young Ped o ha «Us edes, los in eligen es, son siemp e los más o pes» (203); he commen applies equally well o he g aying «mas e beha io is » (Wol ey 100) Poin sman. The wo scien is s, excessi ely a ionalis ic, sha e s ong ep essi e endencies. When Ped o isi s he pain e ' s s udio and sees so ne opulen nudes pain ed by a iend o he Ge man, he pain ings please him bu also cause him o ecall «sus p opias ep esio- nes» (72). Al hough he is willing o ma y beau i ul Do i a a e ha ing been apped in o spending a nigh wi h he , «No podía de ol e le las ca icias» when she kisses him a e his elease om p ison: «La olup uosidad no enía impo ancia» (205). Poin sman, who is unable o espond sa is ac o ily o Maudie' s ad ances a an o ice Ch is mas pa y, is e en unable oexp ess an hones a ec ion o his Welsh colleague Gwendidwy: 2. Pynchon's ondness o dogs is e iden in he deligh ul inal desc ip ion o he dog Desmond in his la es no el: « ace ull o blue-jay ea he s, smiling ou o hís eyes ... » (Vineland 385). 56 Ca o/e A. Holdswo h «he's been oo shy, o p oud, e e o ' e smiled a [him] wi hou so ne kind o speec h o explain and cancel ou he smile» (199).3 The wo lonely men ecognize hei in ellec ualis p oble n and e lec upon i in a e y simila o m: «Deseando: Habe i ido algo, habe encon ado una muje , habe sido capaz de abandona se como o os se abandonan. Deseando: No es a solo, es a en un calo humano» (92). «I should ... should ha e ... The e a e, in his his o y, so many o hese unmade mo es, so many 'sho uld ha es' -should ha e na ied he , ... been kinde » (164 ). In bo h passages, he p e ec e bal o ms inc ease he sense o was ed li es. Ped o and Poin s nan also sha e anal-e o ic ai s. When Ped o a he no el' s close is hinking abou his d ab u u e as a p o incial medica! doc o , he imagines himsel ea ing «Pleu i is, pe ica di i s, panc ea i is. p u i o de ano» (234 }, a med wi h « Un manual diagnós ico del p u i o de ano de las aldeanas í genes» (236), ali eady o ecei e in his consul ing- oom any «linda muje » who su e s om «p u i o de ano» (239). (Typically, he pauses o ep imand himse l ha shly o such hough s: «Esca ológico, po nog á ico, siemp e pensando cochinadas. Es úpido, es úpido» [236].) Fo Wol ey, i is mos app op ia e ha Poin sman i s appea s wi h his oo in che oile -bowl, since he Pa lo ian is « he cen al igu e in Pynchon's a ack on he anal-e o i c cha ac e » ( 111 ). A sha ed esul o hese sha ed psychological p oblems is ha Ped o and Poin sman expe ience an hallucina ion ( isual and audi o y, espec i ely) du ing he cou se o he wo ex s. When Ped o a ends a cock ail-pa y a e a simplis ic lec u e deli e ed by a pe spec i is philosophe (possibly a pa ody o O ega y Gasse ), he b eaks o his con e sa ion abou cance - esea ch because he has hallucina ed he sigh o he naked cada e o he abo ed gi l lying on he hickly elegan ca pe ( 141). While Poin sman is on aca ion a he beach wi h so ne colleagues, he «S uddenly goes a bi men al» (319), hea ing a oice which u ges him o ake a ce ain unkind ac ion so ha he can be Nayland Smi h and Fu Manchu a he same ime (323). To conclude his psychological p o ile, i is wo hy o no e ha Ped o and Poin sman sha e a p eoccupa ion wi h cas a ion. In Ped o's case, he opic appea s du ing hi s ascina ing inal monologue, in he cou se o which occu s he ollowing pa ssage: «¿Po qué me es oy dejando capa ? ... ni si quie a g i o mien as me capan. Cuando cas aban los u cos sus escla os en la s playas de Ana olia ... , es cosa sabida que se les dejaba en e ados en la a ena de la playa y que a muchas millas de dis ancia, los na egan es en al a ma podían oi . .. sus g i os de dolo . .. Pe o mejo es o de aho a ... ni siquie a se sien e dolo . .. Es un iempo de silencio» (237-38). Fo Ped o, cas a ion 3. l is in e es ing o no e ha a c i ic has desc ibed Agus ín, he p o agonis o Ma ín- San os's seco nd (incomple e) no el, Tiempo de des ncción, in wo ds which would apply pe ec ly o Poin sman: «la in ancia, ma cada po el signo de la ep esión .... cinismo, pedan e ía, necesidad de ob ene la segu idad que con ie e el ca go público ... » (Maine 23). Two Failed Scien ís s: Tiempo de silencio' s Ped o and Pynchon' s Poin sman 57 is a me apho o passi i y, Iack o cou age, inac ion; his passi e accep ance o his dismissal om he Ins i u e seems o him unmanly, wha Ma ín-San os in his second, incomple e, no el desc ibes as «la cas ación espi i ual, el o gullo ebajado, la dejación de la g acia» (Tiempo de des ucción 235). Since Ped o is also a ep esen a i e o he Spanish in ellec ual unde F anco, his ques ion «¿Po qué me es oy dejando capa ?» is na u ally no only di ec ed a himsel asan indi idual. In G a i y' s Rainbow, Poin sman ac i ely seeks o ha e Slo h op cas a ed, bu a mix-up occu s, and he ic im is he <<Ugly Ame ican» bigo Majo Ma y. Pynchon 's «Cas a ion episode» con ains a cu ious numbe o Spanish e e en s. When he mili a y poli ce i s come a e Slo h op on Poin sman 's o de s, Slo h op -d essed in a el e pig cos ume- happens o be in a mili a y dispensa y, o which he pha macis in cha ge is lis ening o a adio b oadcas o Ve di's La Fo za del Des ino, based o cou se on Ri as's Roman ic play La ue za del sino. Slo h op hides in a b o hel, as did Ped o a e he abo ion. Majo Ma y is also he e, wi h Manuela, «who is om he As u ias which ... el [F anco' s] c uel y wo yea s be o e he ci il wa e en began o he es o Spain» (705). Ma y, now wea ing he pig cos ume, is aken o he s and o he ope a ion, « he sandjus solid enough o hold he ambulance» (709). As in he case o he Tiempo de silencio passage quo ed abo e, he e is a cas a ion/sandy beach associa ion. «Ya salimos de España ... pa' lucha en o os en es ... » Ped o in disg ace a e he abo ion conside s himsel a spi i ual eunuch; i is p ima ily he cas a ion mix-up which causes Poin sman's inal disg ace. Julia K is e a has obse ed ha cas a ion 's symbolic ex ension includes «ali ha is p i a ion o ull illmen and o o ali y»; cas a ion is an ope a ion symbol ic o exclusion and sepa a ion ( 41 ). I is hus eminen ly i ing ha he ailu es o Ped o and Poin sman be linked wi h a powe ul symbol o psychological and socie al ma ginaliza ion. Tiempo de silencio, w i en by a scien is , has a scien is as i s p o agonis . G a i y' s Rainbow, w i en by a o me enginee ing s uden well ead in scien i ic li e a u e, coun s many scien is s among i s nume ous cha ac e s. Science i sel is clea ly a majo hema ic componen o bo h ex s. Ma ín-San os and Pynchon ha e a g ea deal o say on he subjec o science, and hei p esen a ions o Ped o and Poin sman seem o me pa licula ly c ucial o an unde s anding o he wo no els. Ped o is a young, middle-class p o incial who happens o ha e a g an a a Mad id scien i ic Ins i u e, in o de o s udy cance ; he is no a ce i ied physicia n. Indeed, Ped o is quick o poin ou ha he is a esea che , no a medica! doc o : «- ¡Ah! Us ed ... ¿Es us ed médico?-Tal ez mejo dicho, in es igado . Es oy haciendo unos es udios sob e el cánce » ( l 37). While he is in elligen enough o ealize ha his expe imen s a e unlikely o be g ound-b eaking, he plods along, d eaming o a scien i ic glo y which will enable him o belong o he p i ileged uppe s a a o socie y: «es a a iba, s e de ... los selec os, de los que es án más allá del bien y del ma l» ( 140). His esea ch p ojec , o ind a cu e o cance , is o cou se highly wo hwhile, 58 Ca o/e A. Holdswo h bu his mo i a ion is a ally lawed, a om genuinely al uis ic. When he uns ou o he p ope species o mice and mus buy hem back om he hie Muecas, he is ascina ed by he emole possibili y ha he man's young daugh e Flo i a, who has been in close con ac wi h he mi ce, may ha e become in ec ed wi h he ea ed disease: «¡Oh qué posibilidad apenas sospechada, apenas in uible, e e encialmen e a endida de que una -con una bas aba- de las moci as púbe es oledanas hubie a con aído, en la cohabi ación de la chabola, un cánce inguinoaxila o almen e imp opio de su edad y nunca is o en la especie humana que demos a a la posibilidad -¡al in!- de una ansmisión i ásica» (29). A e such a passage , wi h he emendous i ony o he ph ase «con una bas aba,» i is amazing o me ha c i ics o he no el ha e no ended o judge Ped o mo e ha shly.4 The en i e no el is pe mea ed wi h Ma ín-San os's indic men o «ou con empo a y he o, he man o science» (Luna 241 ), an indic men e en mo e bi ing o being in pa a sel -indic men as well -one may ecall Bene 's e e ence o « odo lo que sob e él [Ma ín San os] se ha dicho ... sob e su a ogancia in elec ual, su a ición al eli ismo, y cie a p ocli idad hacia el pode » (131 ). No only is Ped o qui e disposed o sac i ice, igu a i ely, Flo i a on he al a o Science, he pe o ms a su gical p ocedu e a e he bo ched abo ion wi hou being quali ied o do so; his assis an Amado e lec s ha he young man «no sa bía hace lo. Se eía que e a la p ime a ez ... sin oma le el pulso, sin pedi ayuda» (159). Ped o is a he d unk a he ime, i is ue, bu i is his p ide and scien i ic in e es in he gi l -no al uism- which caused him o accede o he inces uous a he 's wishes. By no means, howe e , do 1 wish o gi e he imp ession ha 1 conside Ped o «e il.» He does no wish consciously o ha m anyone, and he e en eels a ce ain pi y o he labo a o y dogs .~ He is young, he has been ained in he «posi i is p og am o o ce mul i o m inde e minancies in o speci ic slo s» (Hayles 185), and he eels conside able guil : «¿Po qu é u is e qu e bebe an o aquella noche? ... Es á p ohibido conduci bo acho y ú ... ú ... » (176). Much ea lie he had had doub s abou his oca ion; in he dep hs o bis soul, he ecognizes he s i ings o Faus ian p ide: « Le pa ecía que quizá su ocación no hubie a sido cla a, que quizá no e a sólo el cánce lo que podía hace que los os os se de o ma an» (45). Ped o is basically a «pob e in eliz,» as his as u e elde ly landlady obse e s (177). An ambi ious young man la cking in imagina ion, ep essed, mechanical, egois ic, a e d awing a me maid on his cell wall, he e lec s ha -unlike he amous ai y- ale me maid-h is me ma id «no es á dispues a a di idi su cola con un cuchillo po que no ama» (1 77-my i alics). 4. Fo ins ance, Feal has w i en ha «Ped o es la íc ima (mas no del odo inocen e) de un sis ema donde se exa l an los alo es espi i uales en de imen o de los ins in i o s» (210). 5. I es-Ma ie Léone has ema ked ha Pynchon «implici ly dis inguishes be ween good and bad science» (45, no e 11); while 1 belie e ha we a e essen ially in ag eemen , I should p e e he ollowing wo ding: «good and bad uses o science.» Two Failed Scien is s: Tiempo de silencio's Ped o and Pynchon 's Poin sman 59 A one poin in he ex he e occu s a well-known passage con aining a « also panegí ico» (Buckley 208) o science; i begins as ollows: «Que la ciencia más que ninguna de las o as ac i idades de la humanidad ha modi icado la ida del homb e sob e la ie a es enido po e dad indubi able» (206). I his eally a « also panegí ico» o science? Fo me, i is an a ack no upon science, which canno be ei he good o bad in i sel , bu a he on hose scien is s who allow hemsel es o be engul ed in he «enajenación del ideal cien í ico» (Buckley 208) and ans o med in o quasi- au oma a: «las alanges de la ciencia ma chan así en g andes pelo ones bien o gani- zadas» (207). Fo me , Ped o is no con empo a y don Quijo e who ails because his «ideal» u ns ou o be «imp ac icable» in oday's wo ld (Buckley 208). A he end o he no el Ped o is a ho oughly de ea ed man: «Yo el des uido, yo el homb e al que no se le dejó que hicie a lo que enía que hace » (236). 1 ind o ally un enable he iew ha he no el's closing pages e eal «la 'de o a del jus o '» a p o agonis who « oda ía piensa, y con ello se sal agua dan el homb e y el po eni » (Geo gescu 119- 20). As Gil y Casado has ema ked, Ped o's exis ence has been desc ibed as «una p olongada se ie de acasos»; he is le wi h «en esumen una o al desespe anza» (477). The cause o his indi idual disas e is no science in he abs ac , he cause is he scien is s's excessi e desi e o con ol: «la ne ces idad de es ablece en cada ho migue o humano un a modo de eloj en mo imien o incesan e o de mecanismo inde inidamen e pe ec ible ... pa a que se log e un máximum de endimien o y de dis u e: de pode sob e los en es na u ales, de conocimien o de las causas de las cosas» (206) - a clea p e igu a ion o Poin sma n's «s one de e minancy o e e y hing, o e e y soul» (99-100). Edwa d Poin sman is in many ways a nega i e image o don Ped o. Ped o' s you h, ela i ely low social s anding, in ellec ualism, ambi ion, ep essions -all ha e been ei he e e sed, wi h nega i e e ec , o inc eased, wi h nega i e e ec , in he cha ac e o Poin sman. The beha io is is a Royal Fellow, a «high-class i isec ionis » ( 42) who d i es a Jagua . While Ped o is o a ce ain ex en mechanis i c andcha ac e izedby a « acionalismo mó bido» (62), he Pa lo ian «s ands o s ic de e minism and p edic abili y o ma e ial as well as psychic e en s» (F iedman and Pue z 73). We as eade s na u ally espond wi h conside able sympa hy o Ped o' s de si e o ind a cu e o cance , bu Poin sman' s a emp o es ablish he «S one de e minancy o ... e e y soul» (my i alics) causes us o ecoil. I is ce ainly ue ha Ped o hopes ha Flo i a migh ha e become in ec ed, bu he ne e ac s on his hope. He ope a es illegally, bu e en he mo he ealizes ha he did no cause h e young woman's dea h (202). Poin sma n, on he o he hand, akes di ec ac ions which lead o he «disin eg a ion» o Slo h op, as well as o he dea h o B igadie Pudding. Slo h op obsesses he beha io is , who is de e mined o disco e he sec e ca use and e ec pa e n in ha « uly classical case» (55): «We ma y inally ha e o s a e, e o ize ... » ( 104)- «The man will su e -pe haps, in so ne clinic al way, be des oyed» ( 168). Bu nci he is Poin sman a mons e . Like Ped o, he is sea ching o he cause o wha he 60 Ca o/e A. Holdswo h a leas conside s a dange ous illness: «E en i he Ame ican 's no legally a mu de e , he is sick. The e iology ough o be aced, he ea men ound ... 'We mus ne e lose con ol. [i alics in he o iginal] The hough o him los in he wo ld o men ... ills me wi h a d eep d ead 1 canno ex inguish '» (l 68, 169 ). Poin sman can be conside ed in himsel he coun e pa o Ma ín-San os' s « also panegí ico» o science. The «e il Poin sman,« a c i ic has called him (S a k 97), bu I conside he be ha io is a a he pa he ic cha ac e , an exemplum o wha can happen when a scien is becomes a ana ic, a con empo a y inquisi o eady o des oy any «he e ic» who da es o challenge his mechanis ic «s e ile a mamen a ium» (878). Jessica Swanlake sen ses in he Pa lo ian 's cha ac e «a bleakness whene e she mee s him ... Hands ha could as well o u e people as dog s and ne e eel hei pain» (67) . When Poin sman ies o con ince Roge Mexico, he s a is ician who is in man y ways his opposi e because o Ro ge 's belie ha i may be necessa y soon « o junk cause- and-e ec en i ely» ( 103), he smile he olde man bes ows u pon Mexico e i ies him as he «mos e il Jook he has e e had om a human being» ( 103). No e, howe e , ha he look is desc ibed as e i l, no Poin sman himsel . The e il lies p ecisely in h e smile 's «assump ion o b o he hood» - he b o he hood o scie nce. Roge is e i ied because he is awa e o he e ible dange s o which such a adical misunde s anding o scien ce can lead, pa icula ly -in be wo ds o Ma ín-San os- he acqui ing o «pode sob e los en es na u ales» (206): «' We bo h ha e Slo h op,' is wha Poin s man has jus said» (103). The e is some hing g o esque abou bo h ou scien is s; we can no e in bo h hei cha ac e s wha Unamuno called in 1902 « la s idiculeces a que lle a la ciencia mal en endida» (9). A he close o bo h no els, Ped o and Poin sman a e examples o he «ex-scien is » (GR 878). Pynchon, R. Poi ie has obse ed, is a «g ea no elis o be ayal» (29). Bo h Ped o and Poin sman, al hough o a les se and o a g ea e deg ee , ha e be ayed he lo y ideals o ue science. In Tiempo de silencio and in G a i y' s Rainbow, Luis Ma ín-San os and Thomas Pynchon ha e u ilized hecha ac e s o don Ped o andEdwa d Poin sman as exp essions o hei p o ound in e es in and concem o he ole o he scien is in ou inc easingly science-domina ed age. The wo cha ac e s a e also, o necessi y, in ol ed wi h he philosophical opic o human eedom, which p eoccupies bo h no elis s. Ma ín- San os's Ped o wan s despe a ely o beli e e in ee will, bu ails. Du ing his p ison monologue, he ema ks: «Ti ene s libe ad pa a elegi el dibujo que ú quie es hace ... E es un se lib e pa a dibuja cualquie dibujo ... y nadie e lo puede impedi . .. ¡Imbécil!» (180) In his inal monologue, while p epa ing o ake a ain o he p o inces, he a emp s o console himse l as ollows: «¿Pe o qué iba a hace yo? ... Si la cosa es á dispues a así. No hay nada que modi ica .» (234) As we ha e seen, Ped o is a ailu e in la ge pa because o his lack o wi ll , hi s passi e yielding o he clima e o he « ime o silence»: «¿P o qué me es oy dejando capa ? » (237) Di ec ly a e his ques ion occu s a passage o pa icula impo ance, which 1 shall ci e in i s en i e y: Two Failed Scien is s: Tiempo de silencio' s Ped o and Pynchon' s Poin sman 61 «El homb e álico de la go a oja e minada en pun a de cilind o ojo con su ecundidad inago able pa a la p oducción de mo imien os ec ilíneos, ahí se es á paseando o gulloso de su g an p epucio ojo-ce álico, con su pi o en la mano, con un palo en ollado, do ado de múl iples a ibu os que de senca dena ían la ma cha e ec a del ó gano gigan e que se cla a ía en el ien e de las mon añas, mien as yo me es oy dejando capa » (237). Ped o he e con as s his own pa ssi i y wi h he powe o con ol o he ail oad swi chman, he poin sman. I is a leas possible ha Tiempo de silencio' s don Ped o in luenced he cha ac e iza ion o Pynchon 's edoub able Poin sman, he inca na ion o s ic de e minancy: «See he man back he e. He is called he poin sman. He is called ha because he h ows he le e ha changes he poin s» (75 1) .6 Pynchon, umo ed o ha e li ed in Mexico, has e ealed a conside able hnowledge o Spanish li e a u e in his w i ings.7 G a i y' s Rainbow con ains quo a ions omMa ín Fie o in Spanish ( 450), and Pynchon el con iden enough o p aise he G ossman ansla ion o Lo e in he Time o Cho/e a o accu acy, al hough he modes ly s a es ha his «Spanish isn' pe ec » («The Hea 's E e nal Vow)> 49). In any case , Geo ge Leeson's excellen ansla ion o he Ma ín-San os no el appea ed in 19648 and was e iewed in The New Yo k Times Book Re iew o No embe 29, 1964. As we ha e seen, he e a e many «poin s )> o con ac beween Ped o and Poin sman. A is ic c ea ion, howe e , is no a simple ma e o cause and e ec ; Ped o is no he «cause» o Poin sman. Ye i seems o me ha he e is indeed a possibili y ha Pynchon had ead he Spanish ex . because o he ma ked simila i ies in he p esen a ion o he wo cha ac e s: <<Po una simple cues ión de sime ía» (TDS 240), «Beca use o he symme y» (GR 168). WORKS CITED BENET, JUAN. O oño en Mad id hacia 1950. Mad id: Alianza Edi o ial, 19 87. BUCKLEY, RAMÓN. P oblemas o males en la no ela española con empo ánea. Mad id: Ediciones Península, 1973. 6. Tbe igu e o he poin sman occu s also in Pynchon's second no el: «Whe e we e Sec e a ies James and Fos e and Sena o Joseph. hose dea da numina who' d mo he ed o e Oedipa's so empe a e you h? In ano he wo ld. Along ano h e pa e n o ack, ano he s ing o decisions aken, swi ches closed, he aceless poin smen who'd h own hem now ali ans e ed, dese ed, in s i . .. » (The C ying o Lo 49 76 ). 7. The p esen s udy, as well as se e a! o he s now in p in , is o igu e in my in-p og ess monog aph on Pynchon' s «Hispanic Connec ion.» 8. The Leeson ansla ion, o iginally published by Ha cou B ace Jo ano ich, Inc., has been eissued as a Columbia UP Mo ningside Edi ion ( 1989).