,yoo nlhbin'he
sideofihe
fturwfthe l"bbywith, Shile!
Hart-Clive-1962-Structure-and-Motif-in-Finnegans-Wake
.
.
,aalion of the Lertu with tbe cggs on which it i$ wril!
(1I, with lhe ~nerative power of tea, and with the cycle of ingoing and outgoing water, Joyce
then hllehu Ihe <<>mplele text (615- 19).
II : THE LETTER
TItougb neither 10 poetic: q Ihe Anna Livia moti& (al! i-16) nor 10 satisfactorily controlled q me Quine! sentence. the wonderfully rich and txpteLiive motif-oomplex which makel up the Let""r musl rank fint among lhe many '''''panding rymboll' in FinlUlg<w W. w. Significantly, it begins with the W<. )I"(1 'Rcw=rend' (6I5. I~)- pronounced in popular Irish
spe<<t. almost exactly like 'riverrun'-and goes on to treat every theme in FiMtglUlJ W&t4, to lhot il '''''Yquickly comeo 10
aand lOr Ille book ilxlf. Detailed COIIQpondenca proliferate in all directions;l& me Letter if; developed in every coneci. . . . . ble contut: it isa " enda ietkr which me lewd Shaun introduces into lhe hcnnaphmditic pill_boloI ('a henn, a piliMbox', 66. ~6); 'Every leIter is a bard ? . . ' (&. 13_33). sayt Anna, and . he it obviously making an allulion 10 Earwid::u'. virility as well U 10 the obscurity orhis meanl of expression; ili. any and every let"'" of the alphabel, which forms yet another cyclic
mio:rocosm; interpreted u the agent from the \lerb 'to leI', it if; both ? charter of libmy and " tource of inhibition for HCE
. . . . d for aU who may read it; it is lbe 'lucier' . nd me 'b tttt'--the fint and tbe Ill$! , Gern:! lio ami Revelation; ;t is me ~a ilJClf, lIOurce of . ll: 'The Letterl The LeIlU ! '. '
Numeroua importa! lt IOUI'CtI for the leiter have already been diJcuascd in publi'hed criticitm and ;1 aeems l. i. I<ely that
t 'Pipinghot' iun importan' . . . . . . . if? . oo:l. ,td~tb,. . ,;"r. ,rntionin lJ! ,wt;, U ~,,_ 506.
? s. . Appendi>: A.
' 00
? Two Mqjar Motifs
o t h = will come 10 light a. . work on FiMtgaJlS Wd:. continu. . . . ?
:s. ,fo", going on 10 treat some of the Letter's symbolism, I ,hall mention only one rno,", 50urce which does not yet oeem 10 ha""
be<. n noticW. : namely, Sheehy. Skeffington'. MidrMl D<zmt. ' lltis includes perhap, the best? known acoount of the once celebrated 'pen l~r', which wa> . . nt by Davitt 10 a young }'eru. . . n with the object of di. . uading him from murdering a fellow member of their group. In his letter Davitt pretended 10 fall in with the young man's design in order that ht: might gain sufficient time 10 prevent the crime, which in fa. ct he mccceded in doing. The letter, ostensibly agr<:eing with the proposed plan 10 carry out a murder, proved to be Davitt'. downfall, however, for it ~ uled a, evidence agaiml him in a trial at which he w"" ,entenced 10 mOre than nine y<:an of detention, some of it lpent in solitary confinement; he also had to fight hi. . 'penisolate war'. The document came 10 known as the 'pen letter' becau,e in it Davitt referred 10 the murder_ weapon (a revolver) by Ihe usual Penian cant term, 'pen', Throughout FillJltllallJ Wake 'pen' and 'Letter' go together, of couroe; it i. Shem Ihe Penman, modelled partly On Davitt
hirruelf, who writ. . the LeIter, and it is ht: who brandish. . a ",volver under Earwicker'. nole in 1. 2. The word 'pen' is often
used in contexts of fighting and bloodilied, which sugget" that ] oy<:e is ming it in the Fenian 1! eIIX:
'his pmname SHUT' (,82,32)
'r. the Pen Mightier than the Sword? ' (S06,18)
'murthe. . . . . . so apt as my pen is upt 10 scratch' (,P~. S~) 'davit, , ,penal,' (464,S6)
'pennyladde1'1l' (479,27)
'D. ;vitt. , . letter ocllp<:nned' (-t-89. go)
As Mr. Atherton h"" emphasilCd,' ]oy<:e w"" always looking out fur ~=mpl'" of forgery, minakcn identity and deception '" modeh fur Fin""giJIU Wah, and this misundentood 'pen
, SI< 85 fT; Athe. --. I'P. 63. 65, " G, <:Ie. ; A. Gb. h=, 'F;"', _ Wod. and the Girlofrom. lIooton, M. . . :, n. . H _ &. Mw, ",I. VII, Spring, 19~
. . . .
~
? F. ~keffittstOll, ? Atherton, p. 6g.
Mi<Md L/aQiU, London, '9<'8, pp. '3 fT.
? TWQ Maj{JY Motifs
letter' is jUlt ouch a soun;<:, though, . . with so many of m. sources, Joyce ,eeJru! to have made dire(:t USe only of the litle,'
'Work in Progr. . . ' w"" the ambiguou! letter on the evidence of which the W<lrld <;<>ndemne(\ Joy<;(, but, he impli. . , the <:On- demnation w,," unwarrante(\ and ha. . ed on a misinterpretation of wholly laudable aiJru! ,
How. . ver numtrom and diven<: it! ! oureeS, the Letter remairu primarily an expression of the natu", of Anna Livia, the female principle of flux and continuity, Anna i, ph)'1ically identified
with the Letter, and hence with the whole 'riverrun' ofFimltt"'" lVaM, in a quite lileral way, Much h"" been said about Joyce'. image of Ihe gianI_figure lying beneath the . oil and forming the featu~ oflhe landscap<:--hi. fcet in the Phoenix Park and hi, head at Howth'--but it dt>C1not. ecm to have been suffici- ently apprecialed that th~ JXnonificalion of Ihe Liffer is
worked out in similarly detailed gcographicaltenr\l,
Befure I go on to dioc"," the <;<>m:. ponden~ betwttn Anna'. anatomy and the lext of the Letter, I think Ihat I mmt (lIfer
. orne explanation, ifnot an apology, f OT the corcinently ocato- logical nature of Ihe interpretati",,, which follow, If outbnrst< agairut Ihe obocellily of FiNltj:all. 1 W""" like those which were proV1lked by Uiy=, have been rdativdy infrequent, this must be due to the difficulty of it! langeag<:, for when the assiduous reader h"" managed to p<netrate it! outer crult he findo that in fact it deal, with sexual and ocatological matten to a point bordering on ob. . . . . ion, T here can be no denying that Joyce found everything associated with evacuation unusually pleasur- ahle (though ,uch prop<rcitieo were much la . unusual in J oy<;('.
Irish hormland than they were in Victorian F. ngland). But if Fi""'ga'lS Wd, i. , by everyday , tandardo of delicacy, one of Ihe 'dirtiest' books ever to be sold on the op<n market, it:Wo per_ hap' goes funher than any other Engllih hook toward finding an acceptable way of using scatology in literature. A curious and unaccu. tomed beauty radiates from the imagery contained in dcocription. of {he genita! and anal regiom of the primal
, The kue, . . quoted ;n full ;0 Append;" C. ? SK 3~.
? rW Q Major Motifs
Mot~r and Father figulft-not the f. . . "h buuty ofuninhibiled 5eWUal joy in all parts of Ihe anatomy such as i, found in Tilt T/wUSQlII/ QM OIU JI;"h/s, with its fllnda=ntally he. . lthy sexual lyricism, bm a beauty which;" d;"tilled hy ,,<,rbal alchemy from ob=,,<, ,craWH on 'Ih<, oozing wall "r a urinal' (AP lIS)?
Perhaps Ill<' mOit unpleasant piece of coprophilic imagery in FiRntg= Wakt;" Ihe conclu"on to Kale's monologue on pages Lj,I""', but <'""n Ih;" ;" saved from becoming altogether . . . ,pcUenl
hy a kind of slraightfaced humour coaxed from the oth~rwi$C bald te:<t by mean, of brilliantly rhythmic writing:
'And whoWMit youw",;1 propped the pot in Ihe yard and what_ inthe namwf,en lukea. . .
,yoo nlhbin'he sideofihe fturwfthe l"bbywith, Shile! will you have a plateful? Tak. ' (142'''5)
joyce =h~ws the mod"",y which induced ~-letcher to avert hi. <:yes allhe last minute from . . ,me regions of hi, Porple Island, and prelC. . instead tn find charm in the whole landscape with- out . . . ,,,,,rvation. TI," extended dexription oflll<' Phoenix Park in terms of Earwicker', buttocks (and vice-vena) in rtL4
(. ,64-5) i, not "oaroe in effect, as it mighl have been had it formed, "'y, a part of the 'Cyclops' chapter of Ulysses, where j oyce is at hi, most violent. The imp=sion given;" rather of a
delicate if onrnewhat nnstable charm:
'Around i, a little amiably tufted and man i, . . heered when he bewonden through the boskage h<>w the nature in all fri. ko i< enlivened by gentlemen'. sea" . . ? l. i,\eneth! '1';" a t= ltory. How nlavc, that firiic, was aplantad in her iivffide. How
lannoboom held tonobloom . . . Therewithal shady rid. . lend thenudvcs out to rustic cavalri. . . In yonder valley, too, lIays mountain sprite. Any pretty dean are to be caught iJUide but il i, a bad pit;", of the plain. A scarlet pirnparnell now mul. . the mound where anciently fj. . t murde. . were wanlro to take root. ' No doubt j oycc;" laugbing with One third ofl,i, 1rish face, but the primary intention;" clearly to pl~3. le, not 10 shock Ihe reader', >ensibiliti. . . joyce i. not trying to be agg! 'CS$i""ly frank in Fi,,"'ga. . . . WW; tbe battle to Ita"" Ihi. lcind of thing accepted a, raw material for art had long ,ince been fOught and won, and, in any case, between th~ wriling of UIy! ;j" and Fi"lUg<mJ
>0,
? Two Mqjor Motifs
WW b. U attitude to oexual mattel'f ru/fered . . major cbange, u be indiaoted to Frank Budgen':
? "But", I Aid, " u I remo:mbcr you in otbtl" days you alwaY' fcll b;>ck upon the fact Wat the woman'. body wu d<:Sir:tble and provoking, whattver else: WQ objectionable about htl"? '"
'Thit produe<:d an impatient "M~ ,fur' and We funhe. comment: "Perhaps I did. But now I don't care . . damn about
their bodiet. 1 am only interest. d in their clowes". '
Thit change of heart would "". m to account foc the del3. cilW ea. . , with whichJoyce Wal able to keep the lUual symbolitm ofhit lat. book in adequate penf. I((:Ii\"t:.
IfJ~e'. tnatUtt attitude to JeXuollity and scatology it borne in mind, t~ more cloacal symbolitm orthe Let""'" may Ix approooched with po-hapolm diswte. I have pointed OIIt above thaI in the COIlto;t of Book III Sbaun'. r;>ce and buttoclr. s are made 10 correspond. ' The lame it true 0( Anna Livi. . hel'fClf, for, though the estuary of tbe Liffey may be called the rivu'. 'mouw', it a1so represcnll Anna'. perineal region, lying oppoloite to her 'head-waten' in the hiill. This f1ctcheresque detail it established by . . number of allusions, mainly in state-
menllofthe Letter. At thecndof\. be venionon ~ 20. , Anna rpr:ab of 'the raa: of the saywi. U up me ambusbure'. II is
hardly necesaary 10 point OIIt that the wwd 'ambuabUtt', ~ on the Freneh ntI? ? <ho><, a1so contaim the pubic 'b""" image which returna 0<1 the final ~ of the book: 'We paa through gr. . . . bebush the b"", to'. (The fint fal. copy of that line from
the Letter it flat and undUguised: 'the rae<: of the lleawind up my hole'. ') It is apparent thaI Ihe k. ,. . which are 'Given' at 6~8. IS . . . . , among many olher thingo, those to Anna'. chQtity _ readint which;' bomeOllI by numero. . . alhWoIlS d . . :wbere in Fu-l"'" WW. At 110. 0', lOr c:xampk, the salt brine, an obviow and weD ostahlisbed symbol ror sperm, fIm. . ,. up into the cstulry: 'The river rdl she: . . ? anted nIL T hat . . . . . just whtl"e Brien came in'.
, F. Sudstt<, 'Further RcooI\ccti<w. 01 J. . . . . . . Joya:', p",n-. Rmt. . , vol. XXlII, Foil, [9~6, p. ~3~.
, Sot above, p. '40.
, British M. . . . -um, Add, MS 41474, f. "u.
w.
? T W Q Majqr Motifs
The giant Finn and the Liffey beside him Ihm lie in the attitude of Jl! oom and Molly, mutually opJXl'Cd in kd, but Joyce u. l<ea the U! 1J$<$ situation a step further and suggest! that the. physical di'position implies buccal copulation: 'what
oracular cornep~on we have had apply to them I' (1I5. ~4); 'Jurnpol . hootlst throbbst into me mouth like a bogue and arr<)hsl' (6~6. o. 'i). Th;" then, is till: full significance of the $Oft '11=' with which the work end! . rkscribing a dOled cirm, half mak and half female, Earwic. ker and Anna fonn a human counterpart to the opf>OS<'d Ye,,! Sian gyr<:', A further clue 1. 0 the true natuTe olf that cloacal . . ,aling embracc i:! contained in the worda 'Li>>. The keys to . . . ' (6~6. I5), for 'LI'" may k read 'L. P. S:, i. e. , 'Lord Privy Seal'. ' (Thill C(lnciusion may owe
a little to the celebrated and carefully engineered IIWOi of Sterne's &lIiimmtm JlJllrne. J which, lih Fi_gaM Wak<, enda 011 a sU! pended SUltencc. The debt """IDS to be acknowledged at mI. O':
'It's l"'""nix, dcar. And the flame i'I, hurl Let'. OUT joornce . aimomichael make it. Since the Iausafire hulo. t ;o. nd the ix>ok of the depth is. Qo,ed. ')
It =l1li to ha. vc been a part of Joyce'. design tn include allUliom to every pClMible form ofl! CXual deviation, and to llJe the mo. ' OOmIDOn perveruoIII aa primary material,' The ,in of the Father is alternately voyeurism and inust; the daughter is mbian; ! hi: SOns conWltently homosexual; onanistic and narcissistic imagery abound" and absolutcly everyone ;. , avidly coprophilic.
then hllehu Ihe <<>mplele text (615- 19).
II : THE LETTER
TItougb neither 10 poetic: q Ihe Anna Livia moti& (al! i-16) nor 10 satisfactorily controlled q me Quine! sentence. the wonderfully rich and txpteLiive motif-oomplex which makel up the Let""r musl rank fint among lhe many '''''panding rymboll' in FinlUlg<w W. w. Significantly, it begins with the W<. )I"(1 'Rcw=rend' (6I5. I~)- pronounced in popular Irish
spe<<t. almost exactly like 'riverrun'-and goes on to treat every theme in FiMtglUlJ W&t4, to lhot il '''''Yquickly comeo 10
aand lOr Ille book ilxlf. Detailed COIIQpondenca proliferate in all directions;l& me Letter if; developed in every coneci. . . . . ble contut: it isa " enda ietkr which me lewd Shaun introduces into lhe hcnnaphmditic pill_boloI ('a henn, a piliMbox', 66. ~6); 'Every leIter is a bard ? . . ' (&. 13_33). sayt Anna, and . he it obviously making an allulion 10 Earwid::u'. virility as well U 10 the obscurity orhis meanl of expression; ili. any and every let"'" of the alphabel, which forms yet another cyclic
mio:rocosm; interpreted u the agent from the \lerb 'to leI', it if; both ? charter of libmy and " tource of inhibition for HCE
. . . . d for aU who may read it; it is lbe 'lucier' . nd me 'b tttt'--the fint and tbe Ill$! , Gern:! lio ami Revelation; ;t is me ~a ilJClf, lIOurce of . ll: 'The Letterl The LeIlU ! '. '
Numeroua importa! lt IOUI'CtI for the leiter have already been diJcuascd in publi'hed criticitm and ;1 aeems l. i. I<ely that
t 'Pipinghot' iun importan' . . . . . . . if? . oo:l. ,td~tb,. . ,;"r. ,rntionin lJ! ,wt;, U ~,,_ 506.
? s. . Appendi>: A.
' 00
? Two Mqjar Motifs
o t h = will come 10 light a. . work on FiMtgaJlS Wd:. continu. . . . ?
:s. ,fo", going on 10 treat some of the Letter's symbolism, I ,hall mention only one rno,", 50urce which does not yet oeem 10 ha""
be<. n noticW. : namely, Sheehy. Skeffington'. MidrMl D<zmt. ' lltis includes perhap, the best? known acoount of the once celebrated 'pen l~r', which wa> . . nt by Davitt 10 a young }'eru. . . n with the object of di. . uading him from murdering a fellow member of their group. In his letter Davitt pretended 10 fall in with the young man's design in order that ht: might gain sufficient time 10 prevent the crime, which in fa. ct he mccceded in doing. The letter, ostensibly agr<:eing with the proposed plan 10 carry out a murder, proved to be Davitt'. downfall, however, for it ~ uled a, evidence agaiml him in a trial at which he w"" ,entenced 10 mOre than nine y<:an of detention, some of it lpent in solitary confinement; he also had to fight hi. . 'penisolate war'. The document came 10 known as the 'pen letter' becau,e in it Davitt referred 10 the murder_ weapon (a revolver) by Ihe usual Penian cant term, 'pen', Throughout FillJltllallJ Wake 'pen' and 'Letter' go together, of couroe; it i. Shem Ihe Penman, modelled partly On Davitt
hirruelf, who writ. . the LeIter, and it is ht: who brandish. . a ",volver under Earwicker'. nole in 1. 2. The word 'pen' is often
used in contexts of fighting and bloodilied, which sugget" that ] oy<:e is ming it in the Fenian 1! eIIX:
'his pmname SHUT' (,82,32)
'r. the Pen Mightier than the Sword? ' (S06,18)
'murthe. . . . . . so apt as my pen is upt 10 scratch' (,P~. S~) 'davit, , ,penal,' (464,S6)
'pennyladde1'1l' (479,27)
'D. ;vitt. , . letter ocllp<:nned' (-t-89. go)
As Mr. Atherton h"" emphasilCd,' ]oy<:e w"" always looking out fur ~=mpl'" of forgery, minakcn identity and deception '" modeh fur Fin""giJIU Wah, and this misundentood 'pen
, SI< 85 fT; Athe. --. I'P. 63. 65, " G, <:Ie. ; A. Gb. h=, 'F;"', _ Wod. and the Girlofrom. lIooton, M. . . :, n. . H _ &. Mw, ",I. VII, Spring, 19~
. . . .
~
? F. ~keffittstOll, ? Atherton, p. 6g.
Mi<Md L/aQiU, London, '9<'8, pp. '3 fT.
? TWQ Maj{JY Motifs
letter' is jUlt ouch a soun;<:, though, . . with so many of m. sources, Joyce ,eeJru! to have made dire(:t USe only of the litle,'
'Work in Progr. . . ' w"" the ambiguou! letter on the evidence of which the W<lrld <;<>ndemne(\ Joy<;(, but, he impli. . , the <:On- demnation w,," unwarrante(\ and ha. . ed on a misinterpretation of wholly laudable aiJru! ,
How. . ver numtrom and diven<: it! ! oureeS, the Letter remairu primarily an expression of the natu", of Anna Livia, the female principle of flux and continuity, Anna i, ph)'1ically identified
with the Letter, and hence with the whole 'riverrun' ofFimltt"'" lVaM, in a quite lileral way, Much h"" been said about Joyce'. image of Ihe gianI_figure lying beneath the . oil and forming the featu~ oflhe landscap<:--hi. fcet in the Phoenix Park and hi, head at Howth'--but it dt>C1not. ecm to have been suffici- ently apprecialed that th~ JXnonificalion of Ihe Liffer is
worked out in similarly detailed gcographicaltenr\l,
Befure I go on to dioc"," the <;<>m:. ponden~ betwttn Anna'. anatomy and the lext of the Letter, I think Ihat I mmt (lIfer
. orne explanation, ifnot an apology, f OT the corcinently ocato- logical nature of Ihe interpretati",,, which follow, If outbnrst< agairut Ihe obocellily of FiNltj:all. 1 W""" like those which were proV1lked by Uiy=, have been rdativdy infrequent, this must be due to the difficulty of it! langeag<:, for when the assiduous reader h"" managed to p<netrate it! outer crult he findo that in fact it deal, with sexual and ocatological matten to a point bordering on ob. . . . . ion, T here can be no denying that Joyce found everything associated with evacuation unusually pleasur- ahle (though ,uch prop<rcitieo were much la . unusual in J oy<;('.
Irish hormland than they were in Victorian F. ngland). But if Fi""'ga'lS Wd, i. , by everyday , tandardo of delicacy, one of Ihe 'dirtiest' books ever to be sold on the op<n market, it:Wo per_ hap' goes funher than any other Engllih hook toward finding an acceptable way of using scatology in literature. A curious and unaccu. tomed beauty radiates from the imagery contained in dcocription. of {he genita! and anal regiom of the primal
, The kue, . . quoted ;n full ;0 Append;" C. ? SK 3~.
? rW Q Major Motifs
Mot~r and Father figulft-not the f. . . "h buuty ofuninhibiled 5eWUal joy in all parts of Ihe anatomy such as i, found in Tilt T/wUSQlII/ QM OIU JI;"h/s, with its fllnda=ntally he. . lthy sexual lyricism, bm a beauty which;" d;"tilled hy ,,<,rbal alchemy from ob=,,<, ,craWH on 'Ih<, oozing wall "r a urinal' (AP lIS)?
Perhaps Ill<' mOit unpleasant piece of coprophilic imagery in FiRntg= Wakt;" Ihe conclu"on to Kale's monologue on pages Lj,I""', but <'""n Ih;" ;" saved from becoming altogether . . . ,pcUenl
hy a kind of slraightfaced humour coaxed from the oth~rwi$C bald te:<t by mean, of brilliantly rhythmic writing:
'And whoWMit youw",;1 propped the pot in Ihe yard and what_ inthe namwf,en lukea. . .
,yoo nlhbin'he sideofihe fturwfthe l"bbywith, Shile! will you have a plateful? Tak. ' (142'''5)
joyce =h~ws the mod"",y which induced ~-letcher to avert hi. <:yes allhe last minute from . . ,me regions of hi, Porple Island, and prelC. . instead tn find charm in the whole landscape with- out . . . ,,,,,rvation. TI," extended dexription oflll<' Phoenix Park in terms of Earwicker', buttocks (and vice-vena) in rtL4
(. ,64-5) i, not "oaroe in effect, as it mighl have been had it formed, "'y, a part of the 'Cyclops' chapter of Ulysses, where j oyce is at hi, most violent. The imp=sion given;" rather of a
delicate if onrnewhat nnstable charm:
'Around i, a little amiably tufted and man i, . . heered when he bewonden through the boskage h<>w the nature in all fri. ko i< enlivened by gentlemen'. sea" . . ? l. i,\eneth! '1';" a t= ltory. How nlavc, that firiic, was aplantad in her iivffide. How
lannoboom held tonobloom . . . Therewithal shady rid. . lend thenudvcs out to rustic cavalri. . . In yonder valley, too, lIays mountain sprite. Any pretty dean are to be caught iJUide but il i, a bad pit;", of the plain. A scarlet pirnparnell now mul. . the mound where anciently fj. . t murde. . were wanlro to take root. ' No doubt j oycc;" laugbing with One third ofl,i, 1rish face, but the primary intention;" clearly to pl~3. le, not 10 shock Ihe reader', >ensibiliti. . . joyce i. not trying to be agg! 'CS$i""ly frank in Fi,,"'ga. . . . WW; tbe battle to Ita"" Ihi. lcind of thing accepted a, raw material for art had long ,ince been fOught and won, and, in any case, between th~ wriling of UIy! ;j" and Fi"lUg<mJ
>0,
? Two Mqjor Motifs
WW b. U attitude to oexual mattel'f ru/fered . . major cbange, u be indiaoted to Frank Budgen':
? "But", I Aid, " u I remo:mbcr you in otbtl" days you alwaY' fcll b;>ck upon the fact Wat the woman'. body wu d<:Sir:tble and provoking, whattver else: WQ objectionable about htl"? '"
'Thit produe<:d an impatient "M~ ,fur' and We funhe. comment: "Perhaps I did. But now I don't care . . damn about
their bodiet. 1 am only interest. d in their clowes". '
Thit change of heart would "". m to account foc the del3. cilW ea. . , with whichJoyce Wal able to keep the lUual symbolitm ofhit lat. book in adequate penf. I((:Ii\"t:.
IfJ~e'. tnatUtt attitude to JeXuollity and scatology it borne in mind, t~ more cloacal symbolitm orthe Let""'" may Ix approooched with po-hapolm diswte. I have pointed OIIt above thaI in the COIlto;t of Book III Sbaun'. r;>ce and buttoclr. s are made 10 correspond. ' The lame it true 0( Anna Livi. . hel'fClf, for, though the estuary of tbe Liffey may be called the rivu'. 'mouw', it a1so represcnll Anna'. perineal region, lying oppoloite to her 'head-waten' in the hiill. This f1ctcheresque detail it established by . . number of allusions, mainly in state-
menllofthe Letter. At thecndof\. be venionon ~ 20. , Anna rpr:ab of 'the raa: of the saywi. U up me ambusbure'. II is
hardly necesaary 10 point OIIt that the wwd 'ambuabUtt', ~ on the Freneh ntI? ? <ho><, a1so contaim the pubic 'b""" image which returna 0<1 the final ~ of the book: 'We paa through gr. . . . bebush the b"", to'. (The fint fal. copy of that line from
the Letter it flat and undUguised: 'the rae<: of the lleawind up my hole'. ') It is apparent thaI Ihe k. ,. . which are 'Given' at 6~8. IS . . . . , among many olher thingo, those to Anna'. chQtity _ readint which;' bomeOllI by numero. . . alhWoIlS d . . :wbere in Fu-l"'" WW. At 110. 0', lOr c:xampk, the salt brine, an obviow and weD ostahlisbed symbol ror sperm, fIm. . ,. up into the cstulry: 'The river rdl she: . . ? anted nIL T hat . . . . . just whtl"e Brien came in'.
, F. Sudstt<, 'Further RcooI\ccti<w. 01 J. . . . . . . Joya:', p",n-. Rmt. . , vol. XXlII, Foil, [9~6, p. ~3~.
, Sot above, p. '40.
, British M. . . . -um, Add, MS 41474, f. "u.
w.
? T W Q Majqr Motifs
The giant Finn and the Liffey beside him Ihm lie in the attitude of Jl! oom and Molly, mutually opJXl'Cd in kd, but Joyce u. l<ea the U! 1J$<$ situation a step further and suggest! that the. physical di'position implies buccal copulation: 'what
oracular cornep~on we have had apply to them I' (1I5. ~4); 'Jurnpol . hootlst throbbst into me mouth like a bogue and arr<)hsl' (6~6. o. 'i). Th;" then, is till: full significance of the $Oft '11=' with which the work end! . rkscribing a dOled cirm, half mak and half female, Earwic. ker and Anna fonn a human counterpart to the opf>OS<'d Ye,,! Sian gyr<:', A further clue 1. 0 the true natuTe olf that cloacal . . ,aling embracc i:! contained in the worda 'Li>>. The keys to . . . ' (6~6. I5), for 'LI'" may k read 'L. P. S:, i. e. , 'Lord Privy Seal'. ' (Thill C(lnciusion may owe
a little to the celebrated and carefully engineered IIWOi of Sterne's &lIiimmtm JlJllrne. J which, lih Fi_gaM Wak<, enda 011 a sU! pended SUltencc. The debt """IDS to be acknowledged at mI. O':
'It's l"'""nix, dcar. And the flame i'I, hurl Let'. OUT joornce . aimomichael make it. Since the Iausafire hulo. t ;o. nd the ix>ok of the depth is. Qo,ed. ')
It =l1li to ha. vc been a part of Joyce'. design tn include allUliom to every pClMible form ofl! CXual deviation, and to llJe the mo. ' OOmIDOn perveruoIII aa primary material,' The ,in of the Father is alternately voyeurism and inust; the daughter is mbian; ! hi: SOns conWltently homosexual; onanistic and narcissistic imagery abound" and absolutcly everyone ;. , avidly coprophilic.
