A Final Moment of Wrest and Red Ember Ants

(591-592)  As is traditional when I finish a Book in the Wake, today's post is a quick recap of where we've traveled throughout Book III.  It's one last break (and a moment to pat myself on the back for having finally gotten into a consistent Wake groove over the past month or so) before I dive into the final Book (and chapter) of the Wake and (hopefully) finish Joyce's ultimate masterpiece before the end of the month.  I've already given some thought about the question of what I'm going to do once I've finished the Wake.  The answer is probably read more Joyce.

Like Book II, Book III contains four chapters.  Campbell and Robinson call Book III "the book of the desired future," a future that is "not the future really germinating in the nursery upstairs . . . but the mirage-future of the idealizing daydreams of the half-broken father."  The figure of Shaun dominates the Book's first two chapters (and half-dominates the third).  It's midnight in the pub, and the great (as the first chapter in the Book, this one represents Vico's prehistoric age of giants) figure of Shaun appears before the narrator.  He gives us the fable of the Ondt and the Gracehoper (once again illustrating the warring, yet perhaps complimentary, natures of the brothers), spends times talking about ALP's letter, and attacks his brother, Shem, before leaving to the acclaim of the assembled crowd.

The second chapter finds Shaun (now Jaun) pausing in his travels to lecture the 29 girls from St. Brigid's school.  Parts of the chapter take the form of the Roman Catholic mass, and Shaun delivers the bulk of his message in a sermon to the girls.  The message is a bit didactic and rambling, urging the girls to virtue and threatening them to behave (or else).  Eventually, he proclaims his affection for his sister, Isabel, and expresses a fair amount of jealousy over her.  Shaun sets himself up as an example for the girls to follow.  As the clock nears two in the morning, Shaun says it's time for him to leave, but, given his long-winded manner, it still takes him a while to go.  He offers more advice and imagines a life with Isabel, who soon expresses her affection for him without necessarily reciprocating the desire.  He once again attacks his brother but does offer a few compliments after he's established Shem (Dave)'s baseness.  After a couple more false starts, Shaun finally leaves.

The third chapter is the centerpiece of Book III, and it begins with Shaun (now Yawn) at rest on the top of a hill.  The four old men come upon him and conduct an extended inquiry, trying to determine something (or everything) about HCE and his family.  The story is traced and retraced, and the facts and players shift and change throughout the retellings.  Soon, the voices of these players appear, through the vessel of Shaun, and offer their own testimony to the four old men, who eventually become four young chaps.  The voice of HCE finally appears, and it gives yet another defense of his life.  The chapter ends with HCE shouting out (perhaps playfully, perhaps mockingly) the names of his four inquisitors.

The final chapter of Book III takes place primarily in the bedroom of HCE and ALP.  Kate discovers HCE drunk in the pub (where we left him in Book II), and he soon makes his way to bed.  As husband and wife are about to enjoy each other's company, a noise is heard in the house, which turns out be Shem (here Jerry) crying.  ALP soothes her child, and someone (either HCE and ALP, or the three children) watches until everything is quiet again.  When things have quieted, the couple finally do enjoy marital relations as the four old men (and perhaps a police officer outside) watch.  Witnesses yet again recount the rises and falls of HCE, and we conclude with a final, approving image of HCE, the father of us all.

A Nutter Moment of Arrest and Remembrandts

(400-402)  As I did after completing Book I of Finnegans Wake (more than eight months and nearly 200 pages ago), I am going to spend today's time in the Wake doing a quick recap of where I've been as I've made my way through this challenging section of Joyce's book.

In the first chapter, we see HCE's children engaged at play in a loose type of theatrical, or play, format.  The chapter presents, once again, the struggle between the two sons, here Chuff and Glugg.  Glugg repeatedly makes a fool out of himself as he tries to prove his worthiness to Chuff, Izod, and the chorus of Floras.  Eventually, HCE comes out to call the children into the house, and a tentative peace is reached as Glugg (Shem) acquiesces to Chuff (Shaun).

The Book's second chapter keeps its focus on the children.  This time, we're presented with a sort of inside look as the children do their school work, with running commentary from Shaun, Shem, and Isabel appearing in the margins and footnotes of the text.  This challenging chapter culminates in a geometry lesson of sorts in which the family dynamic is presented in a diagram that demonstrates how the brothers' opposed natures resolve themselves into one, with their mother, ALP, representing the vessel through which their life springs forth.

With the children in bed after their studies, the third chapter of Book II returns our focus to HCE, who is presiding over the rowdy crowd in his pub.  This chapter's also a challenging one, with multiple digressions appearing in the form of radio ads, television plays, and interruptions from the pub patrons.  The running stories, told variously by HCE and the patrons, include the tales of the Norwegian Captain and the Russian General, both of which are types of HCE.  The chapter moves toward a kind of haphazard trial that results in HCE being convicted for his sins.  HCE gives an impassioned defense of his life during the trial, but ends up alone in his pub, downing the remnants of the drinks left over by the patrons and ultimately passing out drunk on the floor.

With HCE down for the count, the fourth and final chapter of the book consists of HCE's dream of Tristan and Iseult as they consummate their love while on a ship traveling away from Ireland.  The four old men, who in one incarnation sat as judges over HCE, feature prominently throughout the chapter, spying on the two lovers and going into long digressions about their past.  It ends on a positive note, with Tristan and Iseult affirming their love for each other.

Personally it's been a long odyssey getting through Book II.  As I mentioned, I took more than eight months to read this one Book, and I originally set out to read the entire Wake in a year.  I've been getting better at being more disciplined about this project in recent weeks, though, so I'm optimistic that I'll be able to finish the book before the year's done.  With this renewed sense of mission, I'm excited about diving into Book III tomorrow.

Up, Date!

Yep, I'm still kicking.  For a variety of reasons, I've obviously fallen off the Wake wagon and gotten way behind on this project.  The good news:  I'm not giving up.  I'll begin reading and posting with renewed spirit on Joyce's birthday, which is coming up on Monday.

Of course, I won't meet my goal of finishing the Wake in a year.  It's looking like I'll now be wrapping up sometime in August, which maybe means I should change the name of the blog to "Sixteen Months in the Wake."  But I won't.

So yeah, see you again in a few days.