Monday, 16 April 2018, Pages 460 - 463

We stopped at the first line of page 463: "... blushing like Pat's pig, begob!"

Well, some of the things we read today were quite 'surprising'. For one thing, the Russian General seems to be back, most probably in another incarnation, as Pinchapoppapoff. Secondly Issy, who has been professing her (sisterly?) love for her Shaun (The Dargle shall run dry the sooner I you deny), who had in fact mentioned her latest lad's loveliletter and had explained why she likes him (her latest lad), says on these pages: 'I'll strip straight after devotions before his fondstare - ... and poke stiff under my isonbound ... for the night's foreign males...' What should we make of this stripping business? In particular, how should we understand this according to the interpretation of Joseph Campbell who likens Shaun to Christ?

Campbell comes to the rescue once again and explains the above as follows: 'The ecclesiastical allegory continues in Iseult's promises that though she may take up with other lovers she will remain basically faithful to her Shaun..... Iseult, as the Faith Christ left behind him, is going to be generous with her ecclesiastical favours to wooers of all denominations. High Church, Low Church, Latin, Greek, and Russian - she will embrace them all in His name.'

ah ah ah ah ...... MEN!

Apart from a number of references to Jonathan Swift and his friends Vanessa and Estella, these pages also hint at two operas by Verdi: (a) Il Travatore, (b) Falstaff. The opera, Il Travatore appears as 'The troubadour! I fremble!', which in fact is a take on the aria, 'Il Travatore, Io fremo' (Listen here to Maria Callas singing this aria. Read here the lyrics.) In my opinion, 'Eccolo me!' mentioned in the very next sentence, hints at the aria, 'Eccomi qua, son pronto' from Falstaff. (Recording of the aria here!)

Monday, April 9, 2018, Pages 458 - 460

We stopped at "O, I understand." (460.31)

Oh yes, we did understand something from this week's reading. We understood that Shaun's lecturing is over - at least for the time being -, that Issy is answering him. Last week she had mentioned her lovely hair - though kinkless, it had loops of loveliness. She had given him writing papers and had asked him to write to her (forward it back by return pigeon's pneu*) and that when he sees these writing papers, he should think of her and not of Veronique.**

In this session she professes that she will read rosary for him; she mentions her nurse, Madge, who breaks in her (Issy's) shoes when she (Issy) has trouble with the arch of her feet; and she talks of the boy (her latest lad), who fell for her lips, for her lisp, .. whereas she fell for his strength, his manhood, his do you mind? Even though she has fallen for somebody, Issy assures Shaun that she will always care for him. (The Dargle shall run dry the sooner I you deny.) Issy gives Shaun.

* and **
Jospeh Campbell interprets this request in the following way:
"Under the sentimental clownery of this scene appears very dimly the figure of Christ on his Via Crucis. Shaun has spoken of and actually eaten his Last Supper; his way is lined with women whom he exhorts not to weep, among them Veronica."

Campbell also interprets 'return pigeon's pneu' as Issy asking Shaun (i.e., Christ) to send the message back by pigeon's breath (spirit of the Holy Ghost).
(A Skeleton key to Finnegans Wake, p. 279)

Monday, March 26, 2018, Pages 456 - 458

We stopped at "... loops of loveliness." (458.31)

As I have been away last week, this post just gives reference to where we had stopped reading at the last session.

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)

Monday, 12 March 2018, P. 453 - 454

We read as far as "Seekit headup!" (454.36)

Shaun / Jaun is leaving. We do not know where to or what for. Is he leaving to simply deliver the post? Perhaps we shall decipher what his mission is later in the book.

Right now he says, that his going will be beneficial to himself (my gala bene fit). He also asks them not to grieve his departure (let ye not be getting grief out of it) because better times await them (Lo, improving ages wait ye! In the orchard of bones.)  Does this orchard of bones (a real lovely phrase) refer to the cemetery?

He is certainly referring to afterlife in Elysium (among the fieldnights eliceam and later when he mentions seekit headup - Egyptian Elysian Fields).

Soon Shaun's thought/talk turns to Lent. Though the said purpose of Lent is self-denial, fasting, doing penance etc, Shaun advises the liddle giddles to 'Drink it up, ladies, please, as smart as you can lower it!' And then he bids them goodbye saying, 'Parting's fun.' In fact he says, 'Goodbye, swisstart, goodbye!' (Did Joyce have a Swiss tart the day he wrote this?)

Shaun/Jaun leaves. Some funny thing must have happened just then because he bursts out into a hearty laugh. (Something of a sidesplitting nature must have occurred to westminstrel Jaunathaun ...) He stops and asks the girls to pray (... my sorellies. It's prayers in layers all the thumping time.)

Monday, 5 March 2018, P. 451 - 453

We stopped in the middle of a sentence at "... Holy Prohibition and Jaun Dyspeptist..." (453.15)

Obviously we are approaching the end of Shaun's sermon to Issy and the 28 girls. It looks as if Shaun is going to leave on an errand. (... go forth.... from our nostorey house, upon this benedictine errand....). He has been thinking about it for some time, for example when he sat for his tripos (at Cambridge) where he read Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur / video of the reading here, (Tennis Flonnels Mac Courther) while he took photographs (peeking into the focus), while he listened to his phonograph and radio (pricking up ears to my phono ... and picking up airs from th'other over th'ether).... He, in fact, is looking forward to meeting a king, Erin himself.

But right now Shaun is beginning to get sunsick (I declare to Jeshuam I'm beginning to get sunsick!), him being a half Norwegian. This is something amazing as it is mentioned at the start of this episode that it was the zero-hour with mid-night's chimes ringing (see, page 403).

Well, anything is possible in the world of dreams ;)

Monday, 26 February 2018, P. 450 - 451

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM JJF:

The reading on coming Monday, 5 March 2018, starts at 4 p.m. (16.00h). The reason is that some 40 odd visitors from Milan will be occupying much of the Foundation's space that day.


Back to Shaun's sermon:
We stopped at "Not a spot of my hide but you'd love to seek and scan again!" (451.26)

We read last week that Shaun had gone musical and had recited, 'do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si' to his sister Issy. Of course, he did not do it so straightforwardly, and recited in the fashion of FW, 'I give, a king, 
to me, she does, alone, up there, yes see'. (For those who missed the reading on the 19th February these are the translations of Italian words do, re, mi, etc into English!)

The history or origin of this system of musical syllables is interesting in its own way. They are taken from a medieval hymn in Latin (reproduced below) for John, the Baptist.

Ut queant laxis
resonare fibris,
Mira gestorum
famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti
labii reatum,
Sancte Iohannes

Read more about it here!

Shaun is boasting about his musical abilities, saying, '... you can't cadge me off the key. I've a voicical lilt too true!....I'm athlone in the lillabilling of killarnies.' (He never goes off key.... he is at home in singing Lily of Killarney...). He thinks of John McCormack, the tenor (I sport a what youmacormack in the latter part of my throughers.)

Suddenly we are transported into the world of poisons, of heimlocked, laburnums, Belladama (hemlock, laburnum, belladonna) because 'What's god for the gorse in a goad for the garden ' (What is good for the goose is good for the gander)!

There is of course much more to be discovered / uncoded on these pages. Have fun!