Friday 23 March 2018

Monday, March 19, 2018, Pages 454 - 456

We read as far as "I'll stump it out of him!"  (456.35)

Shaun's monologue continues. He apparently is not in a hurry to leave. On the pages we read today, after being philosophical at the beginning, he becomes quite an Epicurian (in the modern day sense) and talks a lot about food.

Before becoming philosophical, Shaun's thoughts are still with Elysium, in particular with Seekit headup, which actually refers to Sekhet Hetep, the paradise or Elysian Fields created by the Egyptian god Ra, as an abode for people after their death. Shaun is full of praise for Seekit headup as it will be peaceful. (No petty family squabbles Up There ...). One will not observe there the old wife in the new bustle (ALP?) or the farmer shinner in his latterday paint (HCE?), these phrases being modifications of 'old wine in new bottle', 'former sinner', 'Latter-day Saints' i.e., Mormons respectively!

And there's food for refection when the whole flock's at home. What does he refect (rather, reflect) upon? Upon 'toborrow and toburrow and tobarrow' (Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow / Macbeth's soliloquy: video here, text here) , upon crass, hairy and ever-grim life, till one final haowdiedow Bouncer Naster raps on the bell with a bone...with the sceptre and the hourglass (cras: tomorrow, heri: yesterday, hodie: today).  Shaun reaches the pinnacle of his philosophical thinking when he says, 'We may come, touch and go, from atoms and ifs....'

But this kind of thinking soon gives way to thoughts of food. This change of direction comes immediately after Shaun says, 'Putting Allspace in a Notshall.' (allspice, nutshell? Note also that Nut is the Egyptian goddess of sky.) Not only straight forward references to curry, cinnamon, chutney and cloves come up here but also lots of funny modifications, such as vital-mines (vitamins), harmonies (hormones), kates (steak), eaps (peas), naboc (bacon), erics (rices), oinnons (onions), kingclud (duckling), xoxxoxo (cabbage) and xooxox xxoxoxxoxxx (boiled protestants*)

*1n 1846, during the year of the potato blight, potatoes were referred to as protestants. (see Joseph Campbell, The Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, p. 278)

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