ill an unccn:ain
antediluvian
un,ure.
McHugh-Roland-1976-The-Sigla-of-Finnegans-Wake
,.
'" conc:cprual ""er?
load, P')'I:hi<: ' ' 'Ul'1tion.
I" d>? milia! . ,. . ,. than ~henlion. 10 reslrict lIIc: .
I consider familiarity 10 be m. ,. . , imPOflllll AltOOu&h in d>? I
01"".
h a " " a r o p y o f F W a l l > a n d whcne:~er . . . . i n , m itbo<:*. 1 amusilJ. &thefounhNioon (l. . . ondon, Fabcr and Faber 197~). ReferclkXSan:&:ivcninII<<Udana:. . iththco$}'$. em or(CJn- vmtiont adoptN in. ll Wa. t. Ntanli'ltr. An loc:atinna appear as fivc:-di,aiIIIl1,menQ, c. . . (0). 0. for the finl line: of le ll. Chapu:n an: COllllOl:ed by bo<:* and num""_, c. ? . 1. 1 (bool< I, chapter I). In I1. 11he righl and left m:lrain. al ROln and I"" foomotes arc ti""n
"Ilrl. ;'h. '01"",,,,,,A<J<I. MS~7. 1o,"Q,. ,7-1;. 7. ? 7. >"/,. )Q'.
"""" "-In!
II> tb< _ edi';"".
ImroductiQl'l 3
? 4 huroduc:tion
the I,me. . . R. L and F. I''''. . . . dina tht number of tht nole. I hove further adoflted Ihe prn:tio;e of Ippcnding a number 10 1. 6 referencct 10 indicat. the twelve question. into whieh {hi. chapter
~ divided: U . S for imlJlnOe refen 1O;t:s fifth quetrion. RefcrenttS to POi" of {he Buffalo r-:olebook. I re pr<<<ded by the nume. . . . 1VI and the approptil,. lcllcr. Thw VI. R I. ! ITICilru pig<: 1ofI1(I(tbooi<8. ? . In? ? mal. roes? ",r. renca'0p;tgelofmy
own boo! < an: pt<<<dcd by 'p. ' or 'pp. '.
The following abbrevialions arc used for work. f'N. qutrltly
referred ro:
AWN II W"-,,e NtWsli,u.
B~ 1. S. A. J>enoo,TiuBooJu",. IuW"-"~(London,
CG
JJ
~'''rt I C. . . . . . . . II
JI. ber and Fd. . :r 1959)
. . . . 1. icha. 1 H. Begn. . 1 and "'rilz &nn (ed? . ), II Con? up. ~"1 G. ,ith . 0 'FiN. . . . ,"'" W . . . . . ? (Univcnily Park and Lnndoo , f'cnno. ylvania Sta,e Univcnity
Prell 1974)
Richard Enmann,J". . . . . J~. (Oxford UnivenilY PretI poopcrbacl< 1966) S,uanGilben(cd. ),I. -lin,ofj"",. . joyu I(Lon- don, Fabtr and Faber '917)
Adali"" Gluh. . . . , II S<<tWId C -. . . . of 'F;"nq"'"
11". . . . . . ' (EVinston, Northwntern Univeniry Pres, 1963)
SMFW Qive Han, SlTIUl"'~ awl Mori] i" 'FillJOqaN W". \It' (London, Fiber and raber 196z)
G'
Brendan0 Hehir,IIGIU/;''. -xUcotf'"'F,''nt:t"", 11". . . . . . . (lkrk. 1ey and Los AII&"IrI. Univcnily 01
California Prn, '961)
? Chapter I m
The Structure of Fin_R"n" Wake
FW coru;'" offour books, defined by the Ihrot PM"" nfuniverSal hinory in Giambattista Vico's Prin~ipi di Scietiz~ NIWIJQ ITM New S"iena), to which i. anntxed ? transitional pha. . " Book I is the Al e of God$, tymptomized by birth and commencing with ? roll of thunder. Book II is rhe Age of Heroes and of m"maRt, boo! < I II d"'t of People, of <kmocratic institutions and of burial. Book IV, {be """"0, completc5 the cyde, the b " and first acr>-
len= of f'W being continuous.
The four books incorporate much Simple . nusion ,<> their
respective ages, but the s,ylistic differences are only partiaUy con- n=<tl with Vico. The . one of bool< I is one of reservation over the aCC\lI"tty nf iu contents. The narrators. ", IIsuaUy historian. engrossed by . narrowing Ip<:. :ulation (IVCr 'he irretrievable 1'''' event, they study. TowardS the dOli/: of the book their ocholarly tone fades: I,g is spoken by two washerwomen, but it. subject i. . .
ill an unccn:ain antediluvian un,ure.
Book II i. k. . palpably ,. ,. ",,,. dand its <:011ce. "" He more sophist;C\lted and pSychologico. l thIn thost of booI< l. It edlibit$ greal solidity and self-sufficiency, and the languagt is part;rolarly complex. It is Ihe most difficult book and ccsa upon the lubstrate of boob I and II I, entangling their fabrics.
Book III has an inIerrogative quality. Direct speech, denoted by a dash proceding the panlgraph, i, more abundant here ,han el? . ;whtte. In accordll. noe with the Viconw. schnne i, ;' modnn. The sterility and flamboyant pUrpOselessness of the age ofluxury infect and dilute the styli,tic impact. In the last chapler of book III one observes rtftter>Ce to the fum", and to {he destinies of me characters: this outward-looking tr=d. is maintained in the ihart 1>00): IV. Thta<:: chapter1 contain al$O a particular . wan:~' of even,. going on offstagt, connected with the am. . . . 1of dawn . "d {he wakin$ process which terminat. . the sleep of FW. There is
? an awed tone, the lou of the sccur~ i~ments of th~ sl<:g)Cc; and finally I ~hiJdlik( nature it pc=iv~d a Uing (lut to somethins wholly ""'terior.
We an r<<OCn;u a bf. llrICe betWttR the inward-I. . . . ing book IIandtheoutwan:l-iookin&bookIV,andI furtherbal. >n""ofbook I against book III. So far the best analyais of the laner . ;tuaOOn
appea. . . ;n the eadier panl of Oi,? . Han', SI=tur. aNd MOIi! iN'Fi~nqa"' Wakt'. Mr H~rtconstructllCveral schemas af. er . he precedent of those rna<k by Joy"" for UIyJu? . He su~uen. ly ,"""",,
Around. "". nnl ttction, BooIt 11, Joy<< build. twO oppoIinJ; cycles ool\l'"I;n l of BooIt. I and III. In thcae IW<l Book, lhere i. enlbli. hed a pattern (If corretpondmces (If the m. oior eventl of each, lhoo. c in Book II I (lCcurrins in revel"SC order and h. avinS invttIC characu:ritUa. ~ Kool< I bqins. -ith. raw. otwiollsbirth (28-<;1)and tndJ wilh I. ymbolie death (2 I5-'6), Book III bqina with dealh (403)and end. with. birth (590); 'road. ' and Ihe meeting with Ihe King (l. 2) . eappear in 111. 4, Ihe lrill 01 1. 3-4 in 111. 3, the LeIte. of 1. 5 in 111. 1, and Ihe fabl. . . 01 1. 6 earli. . ,. in 111. 1. In hi. a>n"espondtncc Joyce impl~dy rdhred
to this p*ncn'l. '
Further p*rallel1 miahl N e. . ;ly oonjo,ned, for example Shern'a biography (1. 7) balancins Sh. aun'. (111. 1) or the mention at the befPnnini of III. I (404. 01-3) of the laundry depooiled by the WIIsherwocrw:n al the end of 1. 8 (213. 1 1--9). 1 believe that ! he lfC'I' cs, p. iol"iry for the bc-Ji1\lWl" is. o lequire . . . . ,. "h familWiry with FW 10 see the . impk ~uilibrium of IW<I . ymmctricallutf_ acmes lupponing a keyslort<: of IP"el. ler ccmplexiry.
Comp",henlion ofthe I",at balance of part. may be facilita. . :d by acqu. ointance with th~ hiStory of 10'117'1 rompooilion. n. c fint large:section10b(draftedwasbook I(oonill;ol! 1. 1and1. 6):this prn<:f' U o . . : - u p i e d t h e b n e r p a r t o f I ! >> 3 I n d t h e e a r l i e r p a n o f t 9 2 4 - J<>y<:c then composed the four chaPI"" of book 111, ,etumin, periodiCillly to clabo. . . . le book I. I. . and 1. 6 wen:: besun in '926- 7, and by th~ end of the '9205 Joyce: ilf,d publi. hed v. . sions of all the book [ and book III ch. aP'eI"I in . he magnine . . . . . . . . . """. AI ,hilt point 1Il he2lth . 00 family probl""" provoted a sca. . . " of de$pai. in which the work tap-kd. In the. . . . ly 19}OS Joyce began calVing the four book II W ille. . . wilh IJOnizing . Iowne". He had becr>rne v~ry . . . ""ive and we accordinsly po. . . . . . I~$S inf",. ". . . . tion
'SMFW. 66-1.
? 1bt Buffalo Notebookt 7 concm\iag the ~ i$ or mls "(lion. In 1~3;r-& Joy""' revised
bi. entire tUt and abo a$$tRIblw book IV. FW W2I ptlblls~ in '~3~.
I t h i U d ( V O l t tho< f i n t 1 I 1 1 u m a PIC r I o f m e p r e s e n t w o r k . l m o I t tntirely to book, I and 1(1, l. . vina dIC more cryptic cpisodtl for . ubKquent aamin. nion. I . . . . . . 11 illust",'" my "'rIUIl<nf2l)' by meano of ""ruin exle"",' med". nilmS, Joy",,', FW rI<Itebookl, which are rI<IW preserved al the Univen itY of Buffalo. 'Iboy (on- .
I" d>? milia! . ,. . ,. than ~henlion. 10 reslrict lIIc: .
I consider familiarity 10 be m. ,. . , imPOflllll AltOOu&h in d>? I
01"".
h a " " a r o p y o f F W a l l > a n d whcne:~er . . . . i n , m itbo<:*. 1 amusilJ. &thefounhNioon (l. . . ondon, Fabcr and Faber 197~). ReferclkXSan:&:ivcninII<<Udana:. . iththco$}'$. em or(CJn- vmtiont adoptN in. ll Wa. t. Ntanli'ltr. An loc:atinna appear as fivc:-di,aiIIIl1,menQ, c. . . (0). 0. for the finl line: of le ll. Chapu:n an: COllllOl:ed by bo<:* and num""_, c. ? . 1. 1 (bool< I, chapter I). In I1. 11he righl and left m:lrain. al ROln and I"" foomotes arc ti""n
"Ilrl. ;'h. '01"",,,,,,A<J<I. MS~7. 1o,"Q,. ,7-1;. 7. ? 7. >"/,. )Q'.
"""" "-In!
II> tb< _ edi';"".
ImroductiQl'l 3
? 4 huroduc:tion
the I,me. . . R. L and F. I''''. . . . dina tht number of tht nole. I hove further adoflted Ihe prn:tio;e of Ippcnding a number 10 1. 6 referencct 10 indicat. the twelve question. into whieh {hi. chapter
~ divided: U . S for imlJlnOe refen 1O;t:s fifth quetrion. RefcrenttS to POi" of {he Buffalo r-:olebook. I re pr<<<ded by the nume. . . . 1VI and the approptil,. lcllcr. Thw VI. R I. ! ITICilru pig<: 1ofI1(I(tbooi<8. ? . In? ? mal. roes? ",r. renca'0p;tgelofmy
own boo! < an: pt<<<dcd by 'p. ' or 'pp. '.
The following abbrevialions arc used for work. f'N. qutrltly
referred ro:
AWN II W"-,,e NtWsli,u.
B~ 1. S. A. J>enoo,TiuBooJu",. IuW"-"~(London,
CG
JJ
~'''rt I C. . . . . . . . II
JI. ber and Fd. . :r 1959)
. . . . 1. icha. 1 H. Begn. . 1 and "'rilz &nn (ed? . ), II Con? up. ~"1 G. ,ith . 0 'FiN. . . . ,"'" W . . . . . ? (Univcnily Park and Lnndoo , f'cnno. ylvania Sta,e Univcnity
Prell 1974)
Richard Enmann,J". . . . . J~. (Oxford UnivenilY PretI poopcrbacl< 1966) S,uanGilben(cd. ),I. -lin,ofj"",. . joyu I(Lon- don, Fabtr and Faber '917)
Adali"" Gluh. . . . , II S<<tWId C -. . . . of 'F;"nq"'"
11". . . . . . ' (EVinston, Northwntern Univeniry Pres, 1963)
SMFW Qive Han, SlTIUl"'~ awl Mori] i" 'FillJOqaN W". \It' (London, Fiber and raber 196z)
G'
Brendan0 Hehir,IIGIU/;''. -xUcotf'"'F,''nt:t"", 11". . . . . . . (lkrk. 1ey and Los AII&"IrI. Univcnily 01
California Prn, '961)
? Chapter I m
The Structure of Fin_R"n" Wake
FW coru;'" offour books, defined by the Ihrot PM"" nfuniverSal hinory in Giambattista Vico's Prin~ipi di Scietiz~ NIWIJQ ITM New S"iena), to which i. anntxed ? transitional pha. . " Book I is the Al e of God$, tymptomized by birth and commencing with ? roll of thunder. Book II is rhe Age of Heroes and of m"maRt, boo! < I II d"'t of People, of <kmocratic institutions and of burial. Book IV, {be """"0, completc5 the cyde, the b " and first acr>-
len= of f'W being continuous.
The four books incorporate much Simple . nusion ,<> their
respective ages, but the s,ylistic differences are only partiaUy con- n=<tl with Vico. The . one of bool< I is one of reservation over the aCC\lI"tty nf iu contents. The narrators. ", IIsuaUy historian. engrossed by . narrowing Ip<:. :ulation (IVCr 'he irretrievable 1'''' event, they study. TowardS the dOli/: of the book their ocholarly tone fades: I,g is spoken by two washerwomen, but it. subject i. . .
ill an unccn:ain antediluvian un,ure.
Book II i. k. . palpably ,. ,. ",,,. dand its <:011ce. "" He more sophist;C\lted and pSychologico. l thIn thost of booI< l. It edlibit$ greal solidity and self-sufficiency, and the languagt is part;rolarly complex. It is Ihe most difficult book and ccsa upon the lubstrate of boob I and II I, entangling their fabrics.
Book III has an inIerrogative quality. Direct speech, denoted by a dash proceding the panlgraph, i, more abundant here ,han el? . ;whtte. In accordll. noe with the Viconw. schnne i, ;' modnn. The sterility and flamboyant pUrpOselessness of the age ofluxury infect and dilute the styli,tic impact. In the last chapler of book III one observes rtftter>Ce to the fum", and to {he destinies of me characters: this outward-looking tr=d. is maintained in the ihart 1>00): IV. Thta<:: chapter1 contain al$O a particular . wan:~' of even,. going on offstagt, connected with the am. . . . 1of dawn . "d {he wakin$ process which terminat. . the sleep of FW. There is
? an awed tone, the lou of the sccur~ i~ments of th~ sl<:g)Cc; and finally I ~hiJdlik( nature it pc=iv~d a Uing (lut to somethins wholly ""'terior.
We an r<<OCn;u a bf. llrICe betWttR the inward-I. . . . ing book IIandtheoutwan:l-iookin&bookIV,andI furtherbal. >n""ofbook I against book III. So far the best analyais of the laner . ;tuaOOn
appea. . . ;n the eadier panl of Oi,? . Han', SI=tur. aNd MOIi! iN'Fi~nqa"' Wakt'. Mr H~rtconstructllCveral schemas af. er . he precedent of those rna<k by Joy"" for UIyJu? . He su~uen. ly ,"""",,
Around. "". nnl ttction, BooIt 11, Joy<< build. twO oppoIinJ; cycles ool\l'"I;n l of BooIt. I and III. In thcae IW<l Book, lhere i. enlbli. hed a pattern (If corretpondmces (If the m. oior eventl of each, lhoo. c in Book II I (lCcurrins in revel"SC order and h. avinS invttIC characu:ritUa. ~ Kool< I bqins. -ith. raw. otwiollsbirth (28-<;1)and tndJ wilh I. ymbolie death (2 I5-'6), Book III bqina with dealh (403)and end. with. birth (590); 'road. ' and Ihe meeting with Ihe King (l. 2) . eappear in 111. 4, Ihe lrill 01 1. 3-4 in 111. 3, the LeIte. of 1. 5 in 111. 1, and Ihe fabl. . . 01 1. 6 earli. . ,. in 111. 1. In hi. a>n"espondtncc Joyce impl~dy rdhred
to this p*ncn'l. '
Further p*rallel1 miahl N e. . ;ly oonjo,ned, for example Shern'a biography (1. 7) balancins Sh. aun'. (111. 1) or the mention at the befPnnini of III. I (404. 01-3) of the laundry depooiled by the WIIsherwocrw:n al the end of 1. 8 (213. 1 1--9). 1 believe that ! he lfC'I' cs, p. iol"iry for the bc-Ji1\lWl" is. o lequire . . . . ,. "h familWiry with FW 10 see the . impk ~uilibrium of IW<I . ymmctricallutf_ acmes lupponing a keyslort<: of IP"el. ler ccmplexiry.
Comp",henlion ofthe I",at balance of part. may be facilita. . :d by acqu. ointance with th~ hiStory of 10'117'1 rompooilion. n. c fint large:section10b(draftedwasbook I(oonill;ol! 1. 1and1. 6):this prn<:f' U o . . : - u p i e d t h e b n e r p a r t o f I ! >> 3 I n d t h e e a r l i e r p a n o f t 9 2 4 - J<>y<:c then composed the four chaPI"" of book 111, ,etumin, periodiCillly to clabo. . . . le book I. I. . and 1. 6 wen:: besun in '926- 7, and by th~ end of the '9205 Joyce: ilf,d publi. hed v. . sions of all the book [ and book III ch. aP'eI"I in . he magnine . . . . . . . . . """. AI ,hilt point 1Il he2lth . 00 family probl""" provoted a sca. . . " of de$pai. in which the work tap-kd. In the. . . . ly 19}OS Joyce began calVing the four book II W ille. . . wilh IJOnizing . Iowne". He had becr>rne v~ry . . . ""ive and we accordinsly po. . . . . . I~$S inf",. ". . . . tion
'SMFW. 66-1.
? 1bt Buffalo Notebookt 7 concm\iag the ~ i$ or mls "(lion. In 1~3;r-& Joy""' revised
bi. entire tUt and abo a$$tRIblw book IV. FW W2I ptlblls~ in '~3~.
I t h i U d ( V O l t tho< f i n t 1 I 1 1 u m a PIC r I o f m e p r e s e n t w o r k . l m o I t tntirely to book, I and 1(1, l. . vina dIC more cryptic cpisodtl for . ubKquent aamin. nion. I . . . . . . 11 illust",'" my "'rIUIl<nf2l)' by meano of ""ruin exle"",' med". nilmS, Joy",,', FW rI<Itebookl, which are rI<IW preserved al the Univen itY of Buffalo. 'Iboy (on- .
