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...