(206.29-208.26) Today's reading consists mostly of detailed descriptions of ALP. It's pretty straightforward (as far as I can tell), and I really don't have much to add to Joyce's text at this point.
The passage begins with ALP bathing, grooming, and clothing herself. As with the rest of the chapter to this point, the language often carries two connotations: one for ALP the woman, the other for ALP the river. After she's ready to go out, she has her "boudeloire maids" go to "His Affluence, Ciliegia Grande and Kirschie Real," to make an appointment to visit. She grabs the mailbag she got from Shaun, and goes forth from her "bassein" (or, river basin).
The description is interrupted here by the other washerwoman, who asks her counterpart to pick up the pace. Resuming, we hear ALP described as "a bushman woman, the dearest little moma ever you saw." To support this description, we get a full report on what she wore as she stepped out of the house. Again, there's not much to add to Joyce's description. I like the word he uses here for "ear": "laudsnarers." McHugh points out that "Laut" is German for "sound," so here Joyce is using "sound snarers," which is great because . . . that's what ears do. I also enjoy the description of ALP's riding coat: "her blackstripe tan joseph was sequansewn and teddybearlined, with wavy swansruff" particularly for the word "teddybearlined." Along with her outfit and accessories, ALP carries a coin in each pocket, which "weighed her safe from the blowaway windrush." The washerwoman wraps up the description of ALP's ensemble by noting one of its key features with more river language: "the rreke of the fluve of the tail of the gawan of her snuffdrab siouler's skirt trailed ffiffty odd Irish miles behind her lungarhodes."
Oh, and by the way, I was also glad to see another reference to Manneken Pis here, when ALP asks His Affluence's wife if she can spare her husband for a second: "a request might she passe of him for a minnikin."
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