Report from the September 2011 Meeting

Book 1.IV pp. 93-97

We began with the paragraph “And so it all ended” (93.22) …and still we decided to stay at St. Stephen’s anyway.

Micro & Macro in Finnegans Wake’s September Meeting

We believe this “end” is possibly the end of the trial of Festy King. Discussion now begins about “The Letter! The Litter!” [ALPs letter exonerating HCE, litter, as in trash, rot, garbage, but also “litter” as in the offspring of domesticated animals] (93.24), which is further distinguished with “And the soother the bitther!” [the sooner the better – a note writ by Irish children to the post / and also the role of ALP & the letter – to sooth the court, to sooth the husband, yet allowing ALP to remain bitter].

The letter may be an analogy of the style of the Wake itself and/or an extension to Joyce (who appears throughout p.93) - “Borrowing a word and begging the question and stealing tinder [fire or thunder] and slipping like soap” (93.25-7), in an extension to the charges from the previous paragraph “having murdered all the English [language] he knew” (93.2). Joyce appears in the form of “showing off the blink patch to his britgits” (93.4-5), “I am the Sullivan” [súil – Irish for eye, possibly one eyed man “súil un” Yes, “Sullivan” means “one-eyed” or “dark-eyed.” (JP)] (93.30).  Indeed, there are also numerous allusions to Joyce’s entire catalogue throughout page 93-94. “Gash from a burner!” (93.11) “thatjolly old molly [Molly Bloom?] bit or that bored saunter [Leopold Bloom’s sausage girl inspired saunter in Lotus-Eaters]” (93.34-5) “Timm Finn again’s” [Finnegans Wake] (93.35), Tom Mallon [Thomas Malone Chandler from “A Little Cloud” in Dubliners] (94.2) “evelyns” [“Eveline” ] (94.28).

The bottom of page 93 also features song titles and lines that seem to introduce nicely the twin concepts being explored in the aftermath of the trial – issues of the state and issues of the home – achieved through the “dark Rasa Lane a sigh and a weep” [an allusion to the James Clarence Magnam poem – Dark Rosaleen, “do not sigh / do not weep”] where Dark Rosaleen is a personification of Ireland ala Cathleen niHoulihan awaiting aid from the Pope and Spanish “…wine from the royal Pope, … And Spanish ale shall give you hope”. The second song, Thomas More’s “Lesbia hath a Beaming Eye” (93.27-8) a love song to the beloved, Nora. [from “Lesbia” Oh, my Nora Creina, dear, My gentle, bashful Nora Creina, Beauty lies In many eyes, But Love in yours, my Nora Creina]. Indeed, “The solid man [being] saved by his sillied woman” (94.3) here seems to read into the micro story of a family [HCE+ALP or Joyce+Nora] as well as the larger history of all things everywhere.

We return to the letter itself. “Wind broke it. Wave bore it. Reed wrote of it. Syce ran with it. Hand tore it and wild went war. Hen trieved it and plight pledged peace.” (94.4-6) The tone which seems very Waste Land-ish, Campbell notes is form of an “A B C’s conundrum for children” (A was an apple pie, B bought it, C caught it… [which ends with the same question that ends the paragraph] What was it?” (Skeleton Key 87, FW 94.20)].

[Waste Land?, ABC’s?, same thing]

What is “it” is indeed a complex question when attributed to the questions the letter begs “It was life but was it fair? It was free but was it art?” (94.9-10). Whatever its’ answer are, when “read” it is capable of making “ma [ALP] make merry [or make ma marry, possibly elope as with the reference to Gretna Green, Scotland] and sissy [Issy] so shy and rubbed some shine off Shem and put some shame into Shaun.” (94.10-12).  [Question that wasn’t asked, but I am posing in re-reading? Who is talking here? It seems as though the narrator is kin with HCE/ALP and their children. Referring to “Ma” and “sissy” as though they are our mother and sister. Are we as reader (or the narrator here), the inheritors/children of this All-family’s? (We noted that these lines recall Gerty McDowell and the language of girls’ magazines and books. Possibly it’s someone in the family, or someone in the family assuming the language of a young girl, or stuff written for young girls. JP)].

“Una [famine] and Ita [thirst] spill famine with drought” (94.12, this along with the reference to the Danaides [from the Aeneid, the 50 daughters punished with thirst for the murder of their grooms]  and the commandement to “furchte fruchte” [fear fruit] (94.14) reverberate back to the finding of the letter. “Hen [re]trieved it” (94.7) and “finfin funfun” (94.19) bring us back to Kate (Tiptip!) (79.27), who retrieves the “loveletter lostfully hers” (80.14-5). Indeed, the fear of fruit here creates becomes the “rotten witchawubbles, festering rubbages” (79.30-1) where Kate finds the letter.  It appears the letter will tell how not only about HCE and ALP but also the beginnings and ends of  civilization begins “framm Sin fromm Son, acity arose” (94.18)  –  (but also with lots of fruit, acidity arose – acid reflux?]. But will Joyce “tell me, tell me, tell me” what is in the letter? (94.19)? Not yet. But he will foreshadow Book I.8, mirroring the shape and opening of the section.  Alpha to Omega here (94.21-2) and Omega to Alpha on I.8 (196.1-4).

Four judges appear here, but they are somewhat in the background over viewing the others, “s[i]tting [up in] their judges chambers” (94.24-5), possibly in the Four Courts building along the Liffey “Kay Wall” [quayside] (95.14). The Four here appear to be North, South, East, and West [North Mister (95.5), southside (95.9), Solan[u]s - the east wind (94.27), and the west (95.20) as well as the four provinces of Ireland [used her , mused her, licksed her and cuddled (96.16-7): Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connacht].

It appears they are discussing a case over drinks, the law room becomes the bar room, both being public houses in one form or another.  They sit “around their old traditional tables” [both law –  tablets of Moses, and a table at a bar] “druly dry” [drearily dry – as in sober, both in mind and drink] and discuss the case of Festy King and/or Hyacinth O’Donnell “Festives and highajinks” “Accor[d]ing to the king’s [evidence]” (94.28-9). It sounds like “Singabob” remembers the events he describes—as if he were there—but it also sounds like a bard remembering the tale—which he would know not from direct experience but from tradition and inspiration. Much was made of this being like the Cyclops chapter of Ulysses and the relationship between law, word, and history, with reference to order and civilization being the organization of words/tales/rules. JP)

Discussions between the, now drinking foursome, “The four of them and thank court now there were no more of them” (94.31-2) [from the song “One More Drink for the Four of Us! “Glory be to God that there are no more of us / For one of us could drink it all alone”] + “ginabawdy meadabawdy” (95.7 italics for emphasis) “mountain dew” [illegal whiskey] (95.25) and “Belcher’s brew” [cheap beer] (95.26).  The discussion breaks down, seemingly, after references to the War of Roses. “Do I mind? I mind the gush off the mon like Ballybock manure works on a tradewinds day” (95.2-3). It stinks! Gases and smells proliferate the paragraph. Smells and noses. The first “I” narration in a while begins. This “I” sounds much like the narrator in the “Cyclops” episode of Ulysses (or any stage Irish character), with his cries of “Gob,” (95.13; 18) his “sez I”s (95.18) and thick textual accent. This “I” tells a “putting out” (95.24) story featuring a “redheaded girl” (95.20) their “Fine feelplay” (95.21).  Micro meets macro again here in two forms: The atomization of HCE into [two parts hydrogen, three parts Cerium – H₂ C E₃] is also the spread of HCE across the universe [rearranging it to 3eH²c is the speed of light in a vacuum].  Secondly, in the form of the conquest: sexual and colonial, as the next paragraph begins.

This initial story of this sexual encounter, however, falls to rumoury [memory + rumor] (96.7) in the setting of the “fourbottle men”. The story of sexual conquest, through the “analists” “anschluss” (95.27-28) becomes one of colonial annexation, a debate over “whosebefore and his whereafters and how she was lost away away in the fern and how he was founded deap on deep in anear…” (95.29-30). The four begin “contradrinking [contradicting] (96.3) themselves” through excessive drinking over the conquest of woman/land, this time, in Milton’s Park (96.10) Paradise/Eden/Patriarchy in general? The four fight, calling each other liars, not excusing the other (96.18-19) but eventually, shankahand (96.23) and have another drink “schenkusmore” (96.24) [schenk uns mehr, German for “pour another drink” and also a reference to An Seanchas Mor,  The Great Register, corpus of early Irish law].

           

Vico came up in reference to the OOOOOOOO (96.22). We discussed how Vico’s philosophy suggests that while each cycle is the same, different civilizations reach different points of the cycle at different times. This brings an interesting point introduced by the next narrator.

            We ended with discussion on estate laws, playing possum, some slight blasphemy, and the promise of a chase in the next meeting. See you then! View! (97.2). 

Report from the August-ish Meeting

So we tried to squeeze a meeting into August and kinda didn't make it. Still counts as the last meeting of the summer as long as it's pre-Labor Day, though, right?


Pages Covered: 90-93 (PQ got kind of excited because we're only 10 pages away from the end of the chapter. The more clear-eyed folks in the group pointed out this would probably take six meetings to cover.)


Page 90 was rough going. Lots of pieces and work to try to figure out how they all fit together. We are still in the midst of the trial of the Festy King, and have just finished the testimony by the W. P. We decided that perhaps the paragraph ending with the whore thunderword ("Bladyughfoulmoecklenburgwhurawhorascorastrumpapornanennykocksapastippatappatupperstrippuckputtanach, eh?") should be a bit chaotic, because the thunderword restarts the Viconian cycle and begins again an age of gods. This long paragraph has many instances of falls, and then the following has many instances of dawning, so we ran with that.


The top of the page has a number of references to China, specifically the move from kingship or empire to republic. While previous conversations have pointed out anti-imperial or anti-British moments in the Wake, here a case could be made that the transition to republic, to democracy, actually signals the chaos at the end of the age of man: the thunderword is leading us into a new age of gods, but we have the chaos of the fall right before that. This is all in the context of the final questioning of the W. P., and as we saw last time his certainty is open to question: "Let there be fight? And there was. Foght." This is a genesis moment, but it's struggle not light. And it's not a statement, it's a question. And it ends with an expression of disgust? resignation? vulgarity?: "Fuck."


Fall: "from the king's head to the republican's arms...evinxed from flagfall"; "In the middle of the garth, then? That they mushn't toucht it" -- the first phrase points to the man/chaos/god ricorso moment, but we also have a number of references to Adam and Eve and the Christian fall -- which might account for the whore thunderword, too: "That he was when he was not eluding from the whole of the woman." Here women are a figure of corruption -- although this changes in a page or two (maybe) when the monthly girls show up with Issy.


HCE and his sons, and the theme of betrayal as part of the fall of the father, are all here too: "during the effrays round fatherthyme's beckside" (Buckley and the Russian General), as well as Camellus and Gemellus in the middle of the paragraph.


But the king tries to reclaim his position, and the man goes through another resurrection, in the next paragraph (pages 90-92). Beginning with "Meirdreach an Oincuish" -- shite and onions, but also more words for whores and harlots -- a "new complexion was put upon the matter when...the senior king of all, Pegger Festy...declared in a loudburst of poesy...he did not fire a stone either before or after he was born down and up to that time." Festy declares his innocence, using poetry rather than law and rejecting the testimony of the "eyebold earbig noseknaving gutthroat." This is the re-emergence of the king and a return to an earlier age: poetry precedes law, and we talked a bit about the relationships among law, language, and history. What does it mean for a culture to finally write down its laws? For law and language to be linked? Is law then fixed? Or does it remain infinitely interpretable? This was sparked by the abcedarianism of the passage: "ach bad clap," "Oo! Ah!," "Augs and ohrs," "amreeta beaker coddling doom."


We return to the land of youth: "Tyre-nan-Og," but also Tierney, sounding like tyranny. Tyranny of the King? Or tyranny of those who judge him? Potential for tyranny in the face of chaos, righting the excesses of too much democracy? Festy confronts his judges, "the four of Masterers." As he mounts his defense, he works himself up into his phoenix moment -- not the shame of Phoenix Park but the rising again: he is a "jackabox" at the "dorming of the mawn" -- the dawn of man, the dawning of the morn, a new age. And this is HCE as well: "his exchequered career he up," and it's Finnegan with his whisky: "the inexousthausthible wassailhorn tot of iskybaush the hailth uyp the wailth of the endknown abgod of fire" -- wassailing, drinking to health and wealth, the inexhaustible house (could be Mr. Porter and his pub?), but also the god of fire, at the beginning, from the beginning (ab), unknown but also not really knowing where it will end.


Finally the audience breaks out into laughter and yelling: "the whole audience perseguired and pursuited him...outbroke much yellachters in the heall...the testifighter reluctingly, but with ever so ladylike indecorum, joined. (Ha! Ha!)." This "hilariohoot" sparks a a reflection about the intersecting "duadestinies" of Festy and W. P. This prompts the entrance of Issy and the monthly girls as well as Shem and Shaun -- HCE's children have arrived at the trial of the king. The beginning of the paragraph talks about the reconciliation of polarities: "equals of opposites" -- which turns into talking about men and women, perhaps Joyce's best example of the reconciliation of polarities: "hunundher," "Heruponhim". The end of the paragraph performs in a bodily/erotic way the joining of opposites: "the wild wishwish of her sheeshea melted most musically mid the dark deepdeep of his shayshaun." We laughed at the dirtiness of the passage, but looking back at it now you realize the language is quite lovely.


Chris adds:
All that sexy language we discussed on the bottom of p. 92 -
(youthsy, beautsy, hee's her chap and shey'll tell memmas when she gays whom) till the wild wishwish of her sheeshea melted most musically mid the dark deepdeep of his shayshaun - i had that in my notes as "games" but did not remember what I referenced games too - so i doublechecked my notes, and the language comes from one of Joyce's notebooks under "London Street Games" - from "finwake.com" p. 92

London Street Games 54: (a skipping chant) 'Little Mary Anne who lives up stairs, With high legged boots and a feather in her hat -- That's the way she meets her chap --'.

London Street Games 29: (a chant) 'I'll tell Ma when I get home That the boys won't leave me alone. They pull my hair and break my comb, I'll tell Ma when I get home'.

So, I think this adds more to the notion of childhood innocence (Issy's or any of the young girls) under the threat of sexual desire (sheyshaun - Shem and Shaun competing for their affection?). 


He's right, of course.  Here's PQ again:


So all this romancing, "innamorate...in shining aminglement," has totally distracted the "four justicers": Untius, Muncius, Punchus, and Pylax. We struggled a bit with the last part we worked on, page 93, ll. 1-21, but we came around to thinking it was not only about Shem the Penman but also Joyce himself (Shem of course being an avatar for JJ). He has "murdered all the English he knew" (a reference to the Phoenix Park murders but also to the Wake), "geshing it like gush gash from a burner" (guessing, and also Gas from a Burner), "How dare he!," "You and your gift of your gaft of your garbage abaht our Farvver!". The monthly girls are here, as are the brothers -- "twofromthirty advocatesses," Esau. Shem's special brand of writing -- using shit -- is here too, which plays into the JJ allusions too: "he shat in (zoo)," "like the muddy goalbind who he was (dun)." Of course there is shame in all of this: the trial, the writing, the family -- and so the paragraph ends with seven words for shame.


We left with the letter on the dungheap, and look forward to the entrance of ALP.