Monday, 23 December 2019, Pages 598 - 599

We stopped at "... on fattafottafutt." (599.8)

Our next reading session will be in 2020 on the 6th of January at the usual time. Till then have a good time and a good beginning to the next decade!

The section we read is very dense with hidden meanings. (We had read previously of HCE and ALP sleeping, and then of the breaking of the dawn.) Let us look at a few of these sentences and their possible interpretations:
- You have eaden fruit. (Thinking in terms of the garden of Eden, of Adam and Eve, of the apple, one could say that the person, HCE (?) has reached enlightenment.)
- It was a long, very long, a dark, very dark, ... stumble-tumbling night. . . Now day, slow day, from delicate to divine, divides. (This refers to the traditional view of creation and destruction. The period of destruction lasts long.)
- Padma, brighter and sweetster, this flower that bells, it is our hour or risings. (In the Hindu mythology, creation takes place when the supreme god Vishnu wakes up with the urge for creation. A Padma (lotus flower) emerges from his navel on which the creator god Brahma is seated. (See the painting below!) The creation of the universe starts. It is our hour of risings!
- In that earopean end meets Ind. (Joseph Campbell explains: "This is the moment of Sandhyas, when the opposites come together. Europe and India, empirical knowledge and intuitive wisdom, are now one.")

(A miniature painting from the Pahari region, Master painter from Mankot, 1700/20,
Museum Rietberg, Zürich)

Monday, 9 December 2019, Pages 595 - 596

Our reading stopped at "... parasama to himself..." (596.24)

After the sunrise, we (?) are taken on a tour of the area. Some of the places we see are Howth (Hill of Hafid), various counties of Ireland, among them Kerry (curries) and Kilkenny (kilalooly), Wellington's monument (vellumtomes muniment), ... Someone (HCE?) is still sleeping (svap) though the cock crows (Conk a dook he's doo). 

Monday, 2 December 2019, Pages 593 - 595

Stopped reading at "Whake?" (595.3)

A new cycle of life is starting, a new dawn is breaking. As is many mythological stories, a hand from the cloud emerges, holding a chart expanded. A bit of searching on the web also told me that this is depicted on the crest of the Finnegans family as published in the Weekly Irish Times dated 18 July 1936.

Anyway, there is a grand announcement heralding sunrise. With many Sanskrit words mixed in the text, someone (most probably Earwicker) is calling out to the Sun. He says: "Guide us from our house of death through kingdom come to Heliptropolis, city of the sun." The new place will be bright with light.

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!

Monday, 21 October 2019, Pages 583 - 584

We read as far as "I lob him." (584.8)

The paragraph we read has names of various moons of different planets such as Jupiter, Uranus, and Saturn. The next paragraph teems with terminology connected to the game, cricket.

The central theme though is copulation. The man in the street sees the shadows of the act HCE and ALP are engaged in on the Persian blinds of the room. The news will spread far and wide (through all Urania soon). It was half past quick in the morning ... i.e., ... kicksolock in the morm.

Monday, 14 October 2019, Pages 581-583

We stopped at " . . . the bulloge she bears!" (583.4)

What is bulloge? It has many meanings: bullock, belly. It also refers to the place Bulloge in the County of Galway. In this book, it could also mean the bulge (i.e, belly). After all what we have been reading can be interpreted on one level as the sexual act between HCE and ALP. So ALP has to bear the burden of HCE's bulge.

At this stage, FW is becoming quite openly sexual. A witness to what is going on in HCE's bedroom is Luke, one of the four evangelists. The current section (starting with the sentence, Third position of concord;  582.29) is a report of what Luke sees. He has an excellent view from front but does not see HCE completely as female [is] imperfectly masking male. Another witness is the man in the street [who] can see the coming event. We meet him in our next reading.

Monday, 30 September 2019, Pages 579 - 581

We read as far as "... right renownsable patriarch?" (581.5)

At our last reading, we had come across a number of slogans, almost like posters which Earwicker could have put up in his pub. The last ones we had read were: Scrape your souls (soles of shoes?). Commit no miracles. Postpone no bills.

We read more this time. Some nice ones are, Hatenot havenots. My time is on draught. Bottle your own. Love my label like myself.... Oil's wells in our lands. Let earwigged's wivable teach you the dance! (Let Earwicker's able wife teach you the dance?)

We also read that they (HCE & ALP) met and mated and bedded and buckled and got and gave and reared and raised ... tried to mingle and managed to save and feathered foes' nests and fouled their own ...

In this way HCE & ALP represent the most common, the most widely spread type of husband and wife team. Here Comes Everybody! After all that is what Finnegans Wake is supposed to be about.

IMPORTANT:
Please note that there will be no reading on Monday, October 7th.
The next session will be on October 14th.

Monday, 9 September 2019, Pages 577 - 579

We stopped the reading at "Respect the uniform." (579.15)

Important: Please note that the next reading session will be on Monday, September 30th due to renovations being carried out at Strauhof. More information here.

Monday, 2 September 2019, Pages 574 - 577

We stopped the reading at "... as per periodicity; ..." (577.20)

HCE may be as hale as his ardouries, she (ALP) may be as verve as her veines, but as Joseph Campbell writes "the passage ... (p. 572 - 76) is probably the strangest and most complicated in the book*." How true this statement is!

What we have read makes us realise that we are witnessing some kind of bizarre drama in the dream world, in the subconscious state of HCE's mind. On the previous pages there was an account of incest and many kinds of permissiveness in the family. This drama in which the family assumed Roman identities finally unfolded as a court case. This is apparent on one level of reading.

On another level of reading - according to Campbell - these pages explore the history of Christianity in the British Isles. In his words, "The Irish Catholic wife (now called Ann Doyle) is found to be the junior partner of a great corporation (the Roman Catholic Church) known as Tangos, Limited. The senior partner of this firm ... is variously known ... as Brerfuchs, Breyfawkes, Brakeforth, and Breakfast. The junior partner (Ireland) is variously known as Warren, Barren, Ann Doyle, Sparrem, and Wharrem. Now it seems that a rival firm (the Anglican Church), known as Panto, Limited, was formed ..."

The strangeness is obvious in that on these pages both conjugal love and Christian faith are simulaneously examined, explored, mimicked, turned and twisted till one is left exhausted at the end of reading.

*A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, p. 270

Monday, 26 August 2019, Pages 571-574

Stopped reading at "... to the neutral firm." (574.35)

Perhaps this section of the novel is what inspired the title of Anthony Burgess's novel, Here Comes Everybody.

It is a kind of free licence for everybody (father, mother, brothers, sister and friends) in the house of HCE & ALP, disguised here as Romans!

Monday, 19 August 19, Pages 569-571

We read as far as "Wait! Hist! Let us list!" (571.34)

Apologies for the short info! No time for more this week.

Monday, 12 August 2019, Pages 568 - 569

We stopped at "Thou traitor slave!" (569.36; last line on the page)

As I had forgotten that most of this chapter is written as accounts seen/related by the 4 old men, the 4 evangelists, who had become the 4 bedposts of the bed of ALP & HCE, I was - to put it very mildly - a bit confused when we read these pages.

These 4 have accompanied the parents to where the twins have been sleeping. The parents in fact were dragged out of their bed because one of them (Jerry aka Shem) started crying in his sleep. As the mother tries to comfort the crying child, the 4 watch in great amazement HCE whose genitals are exposed for all to see.

In a change of scene, the 4 are dressed in old-fashioned costumes as seneschals (in the historical context, administrative officers) see/visualize a signpost in the Phoenix part. The signpost carries information on distances to various points: To Dun Laoghaire Obelisk, to the G. P. O. . . . On the obelisk they see a pink hunting cap that is a sign* that the king is coming the next day on a hunting expedition. What follows is a description of the visit of the king, how he is greeted by the mayor of the city, how the mayor is dressed, how the church bells ring, how a feast is prepared etc.

An interesting alternative interpretation was offered by one of the fellow readers on Monday. Accordingly the most significant word on these pages is 'necknoose' (568.20) that was interpreted as the noose around the neck indicating that what is being discussed here is an execution. The church bells ring during the funeral service, the feast is the feast offered by the family of the one who is executed.

Take your pick of the two interpretations or let your own imagination run riot!

*http://www.jjda.ie/main/JJDA/F/FF/app/chks.htm

Monday, 29 July 2019, Pages 566-568

Please note: As the Joyce Foundation is holding its annual workshop, there will be no reading next Monday, 5 August. The next reading will take place on Monday, 12 August.

The grouped last stopped at “pleaseyour!” (568.16)

Monday, 22 July 2019, Pages 565-566

We stopped at “Areed!” (566.36)

Note: The week 4 to 11 August is the workshop week at the Foundation. Therefore there will be no reading of Finnegans Wake on Monday, 5th of August.

Monday, 15 July 2019, Pages 563 - 565

Our reading stopped at "... Holl Hollow." (565.2)

Last week we had read that HCE & ALP are disturbed in their bed by Shem, one of their sons, crying in his sleep. We also know that whatever happens in this chapter is reported in four ways, as seen by the four evangelists, who are here the four bedposts of the bed of HCE & ALP.

It is now Mark's turn. To read about what he sees, and about how he compares HCE's bum to Phoenix Park, go the the James Joyce Digital Archive edited by Danis Rose & John O'Hanlon at
www.jjda.ie/main/JJDA/F/FF/app/chks.htm
The relevant paragraph starts with "From this angle, the male partly masks the female." You need to scroll down a bit to locate the same.

Monday, 8 July 2019, Pages 561 - 563

The reading stopped at "... backs of bannars." (563.13)

We are in the fourth chapter of the third book. It starts in a confused/confusing way, asking 'What was haas? Fog was haas? Too must sleepth. Let sleepth.' In other words, we are asked 'What was that? Was there fog?' and continues to state that somebody is sleeping too much before concluding, benevolently, let that person sleep!

A few things become 'clearer' as we proceed with the chapter. We find that we are in the house of Earwicker and Anna Livia Plurabelle. Here the couple is referred to as the Porters (because Earwicker sells port?). They are in their bed. There are at least two other bedrooms in the house. In one of them the daughter Issy (Buttercup) is sleeping. The twins - Shaun and Shem (here Frank Kevin and Jerry) are sleeping in the other. Frank Kevin is sleeping on the left side (heartsleeveside) and the other on the right side (codliverside). Frank Kevin is sleeping like the blissed angel he looks so like but the other one is crying in his sleep. His cries brings the parents to his bed side. The father is angry but the mother is full of care and concern. 

By the way the four evangelists/four old men are still around. Only they have become the four posts of the bed. According to Joseph Campbell.

Monday, 17 June 2019, Pages 560 - 561

The reading stopped at “... dare not utter.” (561.30)

Please note that Fritz Senn is traveling next two weeks. We meet again to read Finnegans Wake on Monday, 8 July 2019.

Monday, 3 June 2019, Pages 556 - 560

The reading stopped at "Blackout." (560.2)

Please note that there will be no reading on Monday, 10 June 2019, the day being a public holiday.

Monday, 27 May 2019, Pages 555 - 556

The reading stopped at "... to silence and coort;"  (557.12)

Monday, 20 May 2019, Pages 553 - 554

We completed chapter 3 of book 3, with "Mattahah! Marahah! Luahah! Joahanahanahana!" (554.10)
(We have one more chapter in book 3 and just one chapter in book 4. So 74 more pages to go till we say 'good bye' to Finnegan.)

Summary of book 3 from Wikipedia:
Part III concerns itself almost exclusively with Shaun, in his role as postman, having to deliver ALP's letter, which was referred to in Part I but never seen.^[73][74]

III.1 opens with the Four Masters' ass narrating how he thought, as he was "dropping asleep",^[75] he had heard and seen an apparition of Shaun the Post.^[76] As a result, Shaun re-awakens and, floating down the Liffey in a barrel, is posed fourteen questions concerning the significance and content of the letter he is carrying. Shaun, "apprehensive about being slighted, is on his guard, and the placating narrators never get a straight answer out of him."^[77] Shaun's answers focus on his own boastful personality and his admonishment of the letter's author – his artist brother Shem. The answer to the eighth question contains the story of the Ondt and the Gracehoper, another framing of the Shaun-Shem relationship.^[78] After the inquisition Shaun loses his balance and the barrel in which he has been floating careens over and he rolls backwards out of the narrator's earshot, before disappearing completely from view.^[79]

In III.2 Shaun re-appears as "Jaunty Jaun" and delivers a lengthy and sexually suggestive sermon to his sister Issy, and her twenty-eight schoolmates from St. Brigid's School. Throughout this book Shaun is continually regressing, changing from an old man to an overgrown baby lying on his back, and eventually, in III.3, into a vessel through which the voice of HCE speaks again by means of a spiritual medium. This leads to HCE's defence of his life in the passage "Haveth Childers Everywhere". Part III ends in the bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Porter as they attempt to copulate while their children, Jerry, Kevin and Isobel Porter, are sleeping upstairs and the dawn is rising outside (III.4). Jerry awakes from a nightmare of a scary father figure, and Mrs. Porter interrupts the coitus to go comfort him with the words "You were dreamend, dear. The pawdrag? The fawthrig? Shoe! Hear are no phanthares in the room at all, avikkeen. No bad bold faathern, dear one."^[80] She returns to bed, and the rooster crows at the conclusion of their coitus at the Part's culmination.

News of interest:
The Schauspielhaus in Zürich is staging the play, 'Die Toten' based on the works of Joyce (Ulysses and Finnegans Wake) wrapped within the story, The Dead, from the Dubliners. It is a fantastic play! I simply loved it.

Murray Gell-Mann, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1969 passed away on 24, May. One of his discoveries were the elementary particles, the quarks. Gell-Mann gave the name quarks to these elementary particles after reading the sentence, 'Three quarks for muster Mark' in chapter 4 of book 2 (page 383) of Finnegans Wake. 

Monday, 13 May 2019, Pages 551 - 553

Stopped at "... oooh, oyir, oyir, oyir:..." (553.4)

HCE is giving a long speech to the four inquirers/old men/evangelists. He has been speaking through Shaun whom we had met at the beginning of this chapter (page 474, chapter 3/book 3) lying like a giant on Howth.

HCE has been telling the four men about all that he has given to his wife/ALP/river Liffey. He has given her, for example, spices, ointments, currycomb; has built for her a country-city (Urbs in Rure) with a privy (an erdcloset). He has accomplished a lot - built universities (unniversiries) and has set up two ministers (sept up twinministers), protestant and catholic ones (the pro and the con), ...

HCE is hailed for all his troubles by the four men, who proclaim, 'Hoke!'

May all have mercy on us (May all have mossyhonours)!

Monday, 6 May 2019, Pages ... - 551

We stopped at "... Regalia Water." (551.24)

This is just to inform you all from where we shall continue on 13th May. Sorry for being unable to write a few more words on what we read so far!

Monday, 15 April 2019, Pages 547 - 548

Stopped again before reaching a full stop! At "...  the peak of Pim's and Slyne's and Sparrow's, ..." (548.26)

Pim's was a Dublin draper and Slyne and Sparrow were ladies' tailors. Here HCE is describing all the things including liberties of fringes he gave her, ALP.  He did that with all loving kindness as far as in man's might it lay ...

By the way, there will be no reading of FW on 22 April, Easter Monday. 

Monday, 8 April 2019, Pages 544 - 547

Stopped at ".... she wept: O my lors!" (547.8)

By she HCE is referring here to ALP, his good wife (mmummy goods waif). By calling her Fluvia* and Fulvia Fluvia**, he makes her into a river, which courses around Vienna (wiening courses of this world), Paris (turned ... her ways to god on uphills upon search of louvers) and Ireland (Earalend) ...
She could have been abused by some men/police/criminals (bywaymen from Moabit). But HCE says that she is an ideal (iddle) woman. Still he waged love on her: and spoiled her undines. No wonder that she wept: O my lors!

* Fluvia means river in Latin
** Fulvia was the wife of Clodius Pulcher, Scribonius Curio and Marcus Antonius, all supporters of Julius Caesar.

Monday, 1 April 2019, Pages 542 - 544

Our reading stopped at "... half february, ..." (544.36)

Note that the sentence is not yet complete. It is about two pages long!
In fact Joseph Campbell describes these pages as "... two pages of rooms-to-let advertisements, describing the dreary habitations which have flourished under the broad protection of this great empire-builder."

Monday, 25 March 2019, Pages 540 - 542

Our reading stopped at "Wherefore watch ye well!"  (542.15)

Mr Earwicker is still going strong with his monologue on all that he has done/achieved.

As it has been so far, he builds in - or hints at - in his speech names of various cities, such as London, Edinburgh, Zurich, Buenos Aires, New York, Paris, Budapest, Warsaw, Cork, Calcutta, Cairo, Prague, Baden-Baden, Rangoon, Mecklenburg, Jerusalem, Mecca, Potsdam and naturally Dublin. Whereas Zurich is hinted at by mentioned Niederdorf (Neederthorpe) as well as the Bögg set on blaze at Sechseläuten (Firebugs), Edinburgh is hinted at by the (modified) names of the seven hills on which it is built just as Rome is built on seven hills.

Among other things, he talks of how his wife discovers herself at the Mall. (Or does she discover herself at midday meal?) He mentions how he raised (reized) potatoes.  Vikings, Huguenots, Duke Wellington and Napoleon(?) make their customary appearances too.

As it is really a monologue, we have not met the four inquisitors on these pages.

Monday, 18 March 2019, Pages 539 - 540

We stopped at "... quite out of time now." (540.31)

Continuing to talk about himself, Earwicker, 'pro clam a shun's (proclaims) how 'things are not as they were' since he came to Dublin and 'platzed ... residenze' (established his home) there. He also opened a pub for the 'mean straits male and evorage fimmel' (average man of the street and average woman.)

But Finnegans Wake would not be Finnegans Wake if he does not embellish his statements, hiding in them, not only names of various cities - Prague, New York, Madras, Berlin ... - but also names of well known plays by Ibsen - Peer Gynt, Caesar & Galilean, The Lady from the Sea, Hedda Gabler*, Ghosts, When We Dead Awaken, Pillars of Society and Rosmersholm.

* Watch the 1962 movie, Hedda Gabler, with Ingrid Bergman here!

Monday, 11 March 2019, Pages 537 - 539

We stopped reading at " ... that this is to come." (539.7)

Continuing his defence, HCE justifies his behaviour that he did not cophetuise milady's maid. This refers to the African king, Cophetua, who married a beggar maid. To find out who HCE's beggar maid i.e., milady's maid is, we have to go back to page 530 where we had read that the 4 old men conducting the enquiry had decided to call as witness, Kitty the Beads, who had worked as a maid in the HCE household and pub. She had described how she had made HCE go all hot for her (I messaged his dilltoyds sausepander mussels on the kisschen table; 531.5)

According to HCE, it is 'Utterly improperable!'  He would not do it (catch venereal diseases) for any amount of money, not for all ecus in the Cunzie House, (the mint in old Edinburgh according to McHigh). He addresses his inquirers, saying, 'My herrings! The surdity of it!' (Meine Herren! The absurdity of it!). This is as absurd as the rumour about him in the Phoenix park with the two girls because in his own words, 'I would not know to contact such gretched youngsteys ...' 

Monday, 4 March 2019, Pages 536 - 537

We stopped at "... milady's maid." (537.32)

As I understand it, HCE's defence is going on. It is masked by Joyce in sentences sprinkled abundantly with the names of the past Lord Mayors of Dublin - names that almost none of today's readers know or recognise -, names of various cities (Copenhagen, New York, Prague, Sofia, ...), hints to Bible, Oscar Wilde, and I think, to Charles Dickens.* Joyce refers even to Zürich, when he makes HCE exclaim, 'Sacks eleathury!' (Sechseläuten / Sächsilüüte / The six o'clock ringing of the bells)

In any case, HCE announces that he has told the inquisitors all about his past (... have bared my whole past ...), asking them to give him two months when he is sentenced. When that happens he will protest at various places such as Thing of all Things, or court of Skivinis**. He even utters his own version of the Lord's Prayer, intoning, 'Haar Faagher, wild heart in Homelan; Harrod's be the naun. Mine kinder come, mine wohl be won' or in non-HCE version, 'Our Father, Which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.'

* I see references to Charles Dickens's novel, David Copperfield, in the following:
reekeries (p. 536.9) to the house Rookery in which Copperfield was born
Stolterforth (p. 537/8) to Steerforth, Copperfield's friend
peggot (p. 537/1) to Peggotty, who was the housekeeper

** According to McHugh, Court of Skivini governed London in A. D. 1191 and Allthing is the Icelandic National Assembly.

Monday, 25 February 2019, Pages 534 - 536

Our reading stopped at "Poor Felix Culapert!"  (536.8)

Last week we had heard HCE defending himself before the 4 interrogators. Talking about his wife, he had pronounced, "She is my bestpreserved wholewife..." and that "... there is luttrelly not one teaspoonspill of evidence ..." to prove his wickedness in connection with that incidence in the Phoenix park.

On these pages he asks them whether they had seen such a thing? (Happen seen sore eyes belived? i.e, Haben Sie so eins erlebt?) He protests against the person who made public such libel. HCE calls that person a cad (caca cad), saying, "Sherlock is lorking for him."

In other words, HCE's defence is continuing...

Monday, 18 February 2019, Pages 532 - 534

We read as far as "... holding down the throne." (534.24)

Earlier in the work, Joyce had used in many places a single idea as the thread connecting a number of paragraphs/pages. For instance, the names of the rivers of the world was the thread running through pages 196 to 216.
Now it is the turn of cities to connect ideas, sentences, paragraphs and pages. The paragraph starting with Amtsadam (page 532) hints at Bucharest, Mecca, Jerusalem, Brussels, Oslo, London, Gretna Greene, New York, Stockholm, Liverpool, Tokyo, Kyoto, Athens, Belfast, Rome, Peking, Lambay Island, Frankfurt and Dublin, among others.

Monday, 11 February 2019, 531 - 532

We stopped at "... ouija ouija wicket up." (532.18)

Last week we had read that the 4 old men want to call Kitty the Beads, the Mandame of Tipknock Castle (530/32) to answer their questions. According to McHugh, Kitty the Beads lived near Ticknock, County Dublin, and she carried rosary beads. Joseph Campbell identifies her as the female janitor at HCE's pub.

What follows is her statements (hidden among many words that are to do with kitchen, cooking, ...) about HCE, how she massaged him till he was red in the face, etc. In Joseph Campbells' rendition of parts of page 531, she says, "He sizzled there, watching my picture as the refined soubrette, with my broached bust. And he never saw anything finer than he saw when I started so ladylike to leg a jig, highly tight, kickakickkack...."

At this point HCE himself participates in the inquisition conducted by the 4 old men.

Monday, 4 February 2019, Pages 529 - 531

The reading stopped at "Master's gunne he warrs the best." (531.4)

When I think about the pages we read this week, I have to remind myself - constantly - that what we are reading takes place in the dream world.  Earwicker is dreaming and we are kind of voyeurs of his dreams. This is the only way I can extract some sense out of these pages.

This chapter (chapter 3, book 3) started with Shaun being subjected to interrogation by four old men (four wise men, four evangelists, ...).  Now others are being interrogated. As Joseph Campbell writes, "The whole great world of the sons and the grandsons simply vanishes like a dream, and only the primordial, archetypal presence of HCE and ALP remains." A couple of things they want to know about HCE is whether he is the co-owner of a circus (hengster's circus near North Great Denmark Street; 529.33), whether he sent his son to buy the usual jar of porter ... and set it down before the wife ... bidding her mine the hoose (mind the house)..., while he and his buddies go rampaging the roads? (530.12 ff)

Monday, 28 January 2019, Pages 527 - 529

We read as far as "... from their last situations?" (529.14)

From last week's topic of 'fish', we have moved on to the topic of 'Virgin Mary,' reciting Joyce's version of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Joyce's version vs (Version of the original litany)

Mirror do justice,      (Mirror of justice)
taper of ivory,            (Tower of ivory)
heart of the conavent,  (Ark of the covenant)
hoops of gold!            (House of gold)

The litany is available here!

Or is this Issy talking to herself, watching her reflection in the mirror (water) as at the very beginning of the paragraph she tells herself, '... you are a viry vikid girl...'? (Why does she suddenly mention here 'Bartolo mio?' Bartolo is the doctor who has designs on marrying his beautiful ward, Rosina  in Rossini's opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (A wonderful recording of this opera can be watched here!) Most probably Issy is talking here of the apostel Bartholomew and not of Dr. Bartolo of the above opera!)

McHugh also interprets this scene as Tristan returning disguised to Cornwall to meet Isolde. There you go!

Monday, 21 January 2019, Pages 525 - 527

We stopped the reading at "Chic hands." (527.17)

It was mainly about various kinds of fish - including fishnoo! Have not had time to think about what it  - apart from fishnoo - meant :(

Monday, 14 January 2019, Pages 523 - 525

The reading stopped at "... neat zoo?" (525.20)

Monday, 7 January 2019, Pages 520 - 523

We stopped at "... Mrs's MacMannigan's Yard." (523.18)

There are some interesting phrases, sentences, snippets of sentences on the pages we read.
Example:
- cabbage or paperming comfirts (520.36)
- staggerjuice or deadhorse (521.12)
- Playing bull before shebears or the hindlegs off a clotheshorse (522.15)
- orangepeelers or greengoaters (522.16)
- tonedeafs in our noses to boot (522.28)
- pigeonstealer (522.36)
- groomed by S. Samson and son, bred by dilalahs (523.16)

Of all the above, I was (and am) intrigued by the sentence, 'playing bull before shebears or the hindlegs off a clotheshorse'. I wonder, what do these apparently two parts of the sentence mean and how are they related?

In a way, I think, this sentence summarises the quintessence of Finnegans Wake. One can interpret it on multiple levels as can be read below:
1. Roland McHugh gives the meaning as "Bulls and Bears: speculators on rises and falls, respectively, on Stock Exchange. He also equates 'shebears' to 'Sheba'.

2. Our co-reader, Anna, summarises it as follows:
It could refer to stockbrokers. They are good at persuading people by talking them into buying bonds. That is to say:
"playing bull and bear":  'playing' in the sense of 'gambling' on the stockmarket. 'Bull' market is when the stockmarkets are going up, and 'bear' market when stocks are going down.
"the hindlegs off a clotheshorse": there is an expression in English "to talk the hindlegs off a donkey". That is to say people who persuade you into something by talking incessantly. The 'donkey' has been changed into 'clotheshorse' which fits in with the 'she' of 'shebear'. in the sense that she has nice clothes and hangs them on a clotheshorse, sometimes also called a 'garment donkey'... There is also, of course, the sexual interpretation. The male 'bull' impregnates her and then she bears (a child). She has put her garments on the clotheshorse and been talked into it.

3. According to Kitcher et al (Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake), the sentence refers to the story of the incident in the park and the tale of Buckely and the General. 
(Shaun/Yawn who is being interrogated by the four old men in this whole chapter is given the option to choose between these two alternatives.)

4. I found a nice story about bulls and bears. Read The Bull and the Bear here.

Admittedly, Finnegans Wake is teeming with sexual hints, - sometimes explicit, often hidden - and the incidence in the park is one of the main pillars of the book. Still, I personally prefer to interpret the sentence intriguing me based on the story of the bull and the bear!

In any case, here is a photograph of the bull and the bear in front of the New Stock Market in Frankfurt. You are all invited to make your interpretations of 'playing bull before shebears'!

(Source: url)