Monday, 25 November 2019, Pages 590 - 593

Stopped reading at ". ..  humuluation." (593.15)

We have started the last book, book IV.
Introducing book IV, Joseph Campbell writes the following in A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake:

"The cycle of a life has run its course. The hero in his soul's anguish dreamed of a future the would be gloriously mastered by his John o' Dreams son, but beheld the vision disintegrate and dissolve. In the end all reduced itself to a dowdy, unpromising present. The man and woman had reached the end of their fruitfulness. Love was no longer what it once had promised."

Book IV starts with chanting three times, Sandhyas! Sandhyas! Sandhyas! (Sandhya is a Sanskrit word meaning twilight. According to McHugh, this can also be read as Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. McHugh also gives the meaning as 'peace' by reading Sandhyas as Samdhi. This interpretation can not be correct because the Sanskrit word for 'peace' is 'Shanti'.) Thus the first chapter reads as if people are being called upon to witness something that we hopefully will understand as we read more of the book. What is clear is that history will continue in the cyclic manner, the old giving way to new. Past deeds are being cleared up, cleaned up. The fog (smog) is lifting (lofting). One is reminded to wash off the dirt with Pears' soap (have yous vieswed Piers' aube?)

Interestingly the first paragraph of Book IV echoes parts of Ulysses:
Similar to the beginning of this book, episode 14, Oxen of the Sun, in Ulysses starts with repeating thrice each of the following sentences: Deshil Holles Eamus. Send us bright one, light one, Horhorn, quickening and wombfruit. Hoopsa boyaboy hoopsa!
The sentence here in Book IV, Guld modning, have yous viewed Piers' aube?, clearly echoes the sentence, "Good morning, have you used Pears' soap?" from Lotus Eaters, episode 5.

Monday, 18 November 2019, Pages 588 - 590

We stopped at "... on his bankrump." (590.3)

This means that on coming Monday, we shall be starting with the last chapter of Finnegans Wake. It is just 35 pages long.

Monday, 11 November 2019, Pages 586 - 588

The reading stopped at "O so mine!" (588.14)

Luke's dumbshow has lasted long. It is not over even when the act between ALP and HCE is over. He mentions the patrolman again. The one who had seen the act by the shadows displayed on the Persian blinds while he was passing by. Now, says Luke, this person will not see much as all is quiet. If he brought his boots to pause in peace (stopped on the road), all that he would hear is the sound of water flowing (the flow of wand was gypsing water...) in the Liffy.
He then brings in two other people, who present another point of view. One of them is Jimmy d'Arcy. We are not told who the other one is. But we do know that they watched a pantomime (puntomine) in the Theatre Regal (Theoatre Regal) eating nuts (nutty woodbines) and Cadbury chocolates (cadbully's choculars).

Monday, 4 November 2019, Pages 584-586

We stopped at "... homelet not a hothel."  (586.18)

We know already that the sexual act between ALP and HCE was concluded as the hen began in a kikkery key to laugh it off. Was ALP (the hen) laughing at HCE? Was HCE the one who crowed triumphantly cocorico?

Whatever it was, I suspect that in focussing on the act between the two, we have ignored so far other layers Joyce could have hidden in these pages. ALP and HCE could as well be replaced by England and Ireland or equally plausibly by the Catholic and Protestant churches. Worth thinking about though!

Monday, 28 October 2019, Page 584

We read a bit more on page 584 and stopped at "Cocorico!" (584.27)

We already know that what we are reading is the act of copulation between HCE and ALP. The act that was interrupted when Shem, one of the twins cried in his sleep, making the parents go upstairs and calm him down, continues after they get back to the bed. The time was kicksolock. The act is finally over when a hen begins in a kikkery key way not only to bray like a donkey (neigh, neigh) but also to crow 'Cocorico' like a cock.

Cricket:
The details of the event are masked by Joyce's use of cricket terminology. In the 17 lines we read today, I marked 27 words related to cricket. If you are interested in knowing more about how cricket terminology relates to sex in Finnegans Wake, refer to
http://peterchrisp.blogspot.com/2016/07/sex-and-cricket-in-finnegans-wake.html
and
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/larks-in-the-park-an-irishman-s-diary-about-james-joyce-cricket-and-running-in-the-dark-1.3069045

The four evangelists:
The act on page 584 is witnessed and described by Luke. One of the questions raised at our reading was how does one know that it is by Luke. Let me try to find a plausible answer. We have been confronting the four evangelists at various place, in various avataras in this book: some time as four old men, in this section as four bedposts. They are always named in the order Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. For example, the last words on page 554 are Mattahah! Marhah! Luahah! Joahanahanahana! In that order. Why this order? Because the first gospel is accepted to be the Gospel of Matthew, the second as that of Mark, third as that of Luke, and the fourth as that of John.

In the section we are reading, the first description of the bedroom scene is given by Matthew starting at 559.21. There we read the following:
A. time.
Act: dumbshow. (according to Oxford dictionary, this means describing something with gestures instead of speech.)
Closeup. Leads
Man with nightcap (obviously HCE) . . . Woman, with curlpins (obviously ALP) . . . Side point of view. First position of harmony..... Check action. Matt (i.e., Matthew)

The second dumbshow starts at page 564.1. There we read the following:
Jeminy, what is the view which now takes up a second position of discordance, tell it please? Mark!

The third dumbshow starts at 582.29. But (unfortunately for me) Joyce does not name that the 'speaker' (gesturer) as Luke. So be it!

So, there is one dumbshow that is yet to come up. By John!