No More Learning

The manifold symptoms ofdecay in Xinclude hiccups, shingl"", . . . . . kk. . . . . , bedsor. . and gangr~. Marcus Lyon. keq>1 halluci- nating a skde. on (397. 2t-2). Mor<: ,triking are the epicene traits recalling m at 364. 1C>-12. )( ar<: 'four dear old heladi. . ' (386. '4-
'S) or 'four (up) beautiful ,ister rni". ,. . ' (39). 11), divorced 'by their d. . . r poor . hehusbands' (390. 20). Matthew il an 'old peri_
grime mauiarch, and a queenly man' (392. '9""20). The femini2ing inHu<:nce e~t. . ru:h to the environment, aff<:<:ting for imtance O'Connell, >>aueTOby and Ca,emem, This also acc<>unt. for changes such as lhat of 'Latimer Roman hiSTOry' at 388. ]2 TO
'Fatima Woman history' at 3&9. 15.
AlthouRh X are fairly dist;"';'. in the t. <mical sra""'" of 11. 4,
. he main body of the ehapter indicates an overlap of role, which i. expcrienccd nowhere eloe in FW. Thul at 39'. 04 John is a Scots- manandat392. '6-11 Mallhewi, on the Aran Islands, rather than the other way round, In )92. 04-IZ 'Mark or Marcus' is in fae' dying in hospital. There is however no distinct do"h point, unl. . "
it be the whit. papcr separating book IT from book Ill.
The Twelve Apostrophes 105
? Chapter 8 [] e
The Structure or Book IV
It i. time to examine the balance of book IV api. . . , boo" II, 10 which reference was made at rhe out. . ,t. I have tried to CQIlvey the nodon of inur>IllJi<y which characterizes book II ; this is matehM in book IV by ""e",a/;'y. Seven essential processes are involved:
(i) the waking and re,urTccti()fl of m (H) 'he sunrise
(iii) the oonllict of niKht and day
(iv) 'he attempt to uren:oin the correct time
(v) the terminal point of lhe <<gress;v. time and the" fiJlure of book HI
(vi) the vkrory of day over nighl (vii) the lener and monoloRue of <II.
ReouTr'CClion and sunrise ore conceptual equivalents and occupy the mtire chapter. The ri? ? ofm i. no more conlin"'" to a particular loe. . ion than i. his rall in book lI. S93. o7-8 . talC. that On nthor da~ he Ius . lr<<dy got up by this time. At 594-09-n he con- templates washing him$<:lf but at 595-3' has ag. in fallen asleep. The buildin&$ . ubmerged beneath Lough Neolh,' wbich al 076. 21- 2 incmporalc<i m', mausoleum, begin at 6'>1. 04-7 10 issue from . Iumber. The hero is aborted 10 ri. . al 601. 31- :1 and a de? d,ivc wakening occurs at 608. 33-5. BrcakfalI being an,idpated from614. 17, m is . t616. ol-~ 'about to SCt up'. In ber monologue
. . hands m hit dOlh. . and tells him to stand up (619. l4-tiW. ol) but a, the <nd of FW be is . ,ill mo,ionl,," in bed.
Pr. . tTIrimtTIt$ of dawn lin1lhe closing paragraphs of III. 1 ond 111. 2, and . 150 50me parts of II1. 4, which end. wilh the exposure
' Gi1aIdw Cambuntis. :no. r"""""p4y<lI,ti-l. tr. 101m]? O"Meo. . (Dundalk. Don<W_ f'r. eM '91') II,;'.
? TheStructuuofBookIV '07
of the sundi,k (590. 25). But the first beam. of direc. ligllt doeo nol app<car until 594. 21-5, wh<:n it 'Irik", Ihe mbleslOne . , SIO"'"
henge, thr"" pages prillr to ",aching Dublin (597. 24-5). The Sun King, with a eloudcappc:d . unbubble on hi. big white houe, i.
al 607. 28-33 vi. ible from Dublin harbour.
The opposition of lighl and darknc. s i$ firs' posited in the
Cllluhi,m of 597. 01-22. beh re$pon. . , acknowledge. the preva? kn~. . , of antithetical pairing. The . ysrole and the diastole, aw. ! k. and u leer: univer. . . . l experience ofunknown cause. II is from ,IIi,
pa. . . . . ge that the apprehen. ion of a recenlly? ended dr""m begin. 10 e=rge. The withdrawal resuhed rrQrn eating forbidden fruit (597. 35-6). Al<<rnatively il i, paradi. . , at which we have arrived: the rou,,:. ; Qf the Nile, ",ed a. a paradigm of the inacce. . ible in, for example, Thorn. . Vaughan'. Lurnat d. Lurn;ne. '
A d ock 'Irikes (598. 27-599. 04) and an advCT,isernen' <efcr"$ u. to the in, mlll (599. 2)-4). Space and time reaffirmed (600. 02-3), a chorus of bdl, proclaim. the bour (601. 21-8). II migb, be: any
'hing ar. er dark (603. 25-6). Familiar noise. in. inu. ate: the arrival or. postman or haker (603. 02-16) who could he a,ked the time. Public bouseo are not yet open for early riser. ' rna. . and the milk- van ha, nol yet come (604. 05-17). Eventually we are to hear the
laundry of 1.
8 being delivered (614-')1-18).
One nf the chimem' of eonfuStd waking is the rev<r. . ,d
alignment Qf m and 6 in 599. 34 Il00. 03. T he eff"", i? ? honlived and . . ,rveo ro introduce the V<si,~ 1',,,;, ('kettle" 'Ud. . . . Pi,cium'), flanked by the immemorialt. . e and stone. After nil! :lIl'. dormancy the elm beg;ns ro llrow (600. 20), or to show greenery,
for we are likewise emerging from wint. r. Tbe butcher'. apron was hung Upoll it at 213. 26 bu. we now ""pectlo find this ot1lhe ,ttme, rOT poloritie; have cros. . ,d ov<rnighl. A, obviously the butcher at ' 72. 05-'0 md thewhtre, ,. the baker at 60]. 04-8. At 6. 7. I2-t 4 we . hall observe that Thom. a. " Heeket and Lawrence O'Toole have also changed their ChaTacter"$ dUTing ihe b! ackQut.
Tbe V~,;", can a, wen ,. . ,present ? pool with carp ? ? a river (600. 05: I do nol unde. . . tand the relevance of SI Polycarp here). F rom the pool we nuoy derive G! endalough ('By that Lake who. . ,
Gloomy Shore') ~"d Lough NtlIgh (600? 36-001. 07), the fonner a. . ociated with St Kevin (A), wbo wi! ! . hordy appear. He i. henllded by bi, admir. . . . , . . , now the bells of Dublin churcheo. From Kevin (Coemghen), A bc:romes tho posml "",ter (602. )1),
then the postman/haker and th= Kevin apill.
? . oS The Sigla of Fi1\1Ufa", Wake
A. we know from Joyce'. communication. with Frank Budgen,
the ,unri", illuminates a rriptycltal stained-glass window by . tagt. , fiNt uvuling the likeness of K",,;n ('The novened ioonot- tUe of hi. blucyguyned vitmilo but begins in feint to light his legend', 603,34. . 0), The encapsulated lcgend occupies 605,04- 606,12: its symmetries have been de. . . . iled by lack Dalton. ' K evin medi. . . tes upon hi. holy . ieter water, -I, wheuby he appuhend,
'the primal . . . crament nf baptism", the rcgen<:. . . . tinn of. ll IIUlfl by affu'ion of water. ' A , book IV is the Spri ng of f'W, this point i. probably coeval wiIh Ihe Holy Sarurday consecration of bap- tismal w. . ,. :rs ('0 God, who by water did't wash away the crimes of an evil world, and in the overflowing of the Flood did" give ? figllTe of , cgene. . . . tion'). ITI'. ugencno. tion i. a watery prnttS, : the Spring flood elicits the resurgence of vegetation.
A pro'pect ofthe city from Howth appears, 'The rau view from 1M thlee Benn. '. From CIA polarity (607. 08-<), 608. 16-21) 'he emphasis moves'o the poLari,ies of day and nighl, as Ihe dttOmer " ,ives tn ",. ;,,11= hi, d. . . . m. VI. B. 9. 19 has 'Pt IV--dram of t, l, 3'. A fleeting irru>. gc of the V,si"" i? ? -kind of a Ihinglike all ' . . . . ylogged 'hen pubably it usymbles a pelvic o r SOme kvind then propoanarutebackedquadrangle'(608. n-4). Despiteour Languid envy of the agreeable condition ju. t gone by, we are obliged to wake : the <>ppO. ite <>riel of the rriptYeh lights up, depicti ng the confmnr:a. t;'m <>f St Patrick with King Leary'~ a. chdruid.
Among. t St Patrick', major exploits was hi. defiance of royal authority in lighting . fiu ? ? Slane on Holy Saturday. Thl. led 10 an un. uccessful visitation by the insrruments of K ing UoghaiTC (Leary); the vilal cLa,h did not bow""er occur until Easter Sunday.
It took the form of a Ctmtest <If n)i. . . d . . performed at Tara before the king by his druid Lucat-Mael and by Patricl<. The . . . in. was consistently able to ,urpa. . the druid and ""cotually deolroyed him. The particular miracle feature<! in FW involves the dormess brouant OVOI the land by Luc>. ! _Ma~I's invocation? . Rcqneoted to dispd iI, be ann<>unttd that he would be unable to dO so until the following day. Patrick alused it to vani. h instantaneously. ru the . un shone forth once mou,. U the people cried OUt glorifying
Patrick'. God. '
Patrick then 11 Iilr. ~ m a bring'" of lianL Although in book II
M contbines with Bcnelcy and <lthen in the compOsition of . c, the CQnntctions aTC seveud heu and &. keky becomes an impOr-
? 'I\d_ _ for<beRes<. . . ,ion',inr-Io<aM. Tilly,<<llodp,D. h"" ,1><1 am Hoot (1 - . , F . "" ODd F,b<. 1965), 119-31.
':no. Lif. o. . J IVrit? . , . of S , l'''''''~, <<1. /. Hc&I, (D~bJin, Gill '905), '51.
? TheStructureofBookIV t09
tan, element in the personality of the druid. In [he MuulJuva dialogue, where the acton are observed from afar, we see If.