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Re: Fw: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
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----- Forwarded message from as-brown@comcast.net -----
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 12:06:18 -0500
From: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
Reply-To: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)The episode in Ulysses that annoyed VN, which Jansy
refers to below, is number four on Stuart Gilbert's schema. It's called
Calypso. After preparing breakfast for his wife (tea and toast), and for
himself (a kidney) Leopold relieves himself in the garden "jakes" or outhouse.
It's an extraordinarily detailed description for that time and was disapproved
of not only by VN but by Virginia Woolf, Bernard Shaw, and many others. Even
today it can test many readers' limits of just how much one really needs to
know about this humble process. The comic part, to me, is that while doing what
he came to the jakes to do, Bloom entertains himself by reading a pulp magazine
story called "Matcham's Masterstroke" which I believe is referenced again and
again in odd ways all through the rest of Ulysses. The magazine, of course, had
been brought to the outhouse for utilitarian and not literary reasons. I have
theories of my own about the possible influence of this story in VN's work, but
I'm keeping them to myself for now.
Interestingly, for those for whom VN's masterstroke is Lolita rather than Ada,
the symbol of the Calypso episode, according to Gilbert's schema, is Nymph.
It should be noted here, and everywhere the schema is mentioned, that this
mechanism was contrived by Joyce and Gilbert after most of the book had been
written, and was not, as some have mistakenly stated, a blueprint for the
Ulysses.
Andrew
----- Original Message -----
From: D. Barton Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 4:52 PM
Subject: Fw: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
-----
----- Original Message -----
From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 10:40 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
Dear AB and List,
I have been surprised at the quantity of "pets" floating around in our list (
even after D. Powelstock had "cleared the air" ) as I was also by B. Boyd´s
(ch.8) studies in "Ada" where he concluded that:
" the picture pattern and the whole bevy of "behinds" and "bottoms" and "pets"
establish how enmeshed Lucette´s life is in the lives of her siblings...they
have buggered up her life" (page 144).
We know that VN was annoyed at Joyce´s emphasis on diverse fecal experiences
such as those described while reading a newspaper in the loo ( I couldn´t find
the reference to reproduce here).
This is why I understood that Anthony Stadlen´s reminder quoting "l'oeuvre
ormonde du sublime dublinois" (as Humbert puts it in "Lolita") - plus Andrew´s
exploration about the "Aeolus" and the Ormonde Hotel chapter in "Ulysses"
-could serve as indications that VN´s chief intention was in a satyrical vein
and not a more serious exploration following Dr. Signy´s figments and pigments
on anal erotism. And yet, after following the ennumeration of "pets" in "Ada"
( as found in B.Boyd´s "the place of consciousness" ) I started to wonder about
its being simply a satirical appendix ( should I have written "satyrical"?).
Reading AB´s comments on VN´s symphonic tuning in with Ulysses, and the
connection bt. music and Aeolus, I was reminded of Frank Muir´s " An irreverent
companion to social history" where he quoted:
" Music is but a fart that is sent from the guts of an instrument",
to explain how music could sound to non-musical ears.
Despite VN´s contrapunctal expertise and his verbal sensibility close to the
sweetness of Keats´ "unheard melodies", I must confess that Boyd´s arguments on
the "pet" theme were well illustrated and I cannot dismiss the miasma they
spread in the bogs of Ardis.
Jansy
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald B. Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 9:00 PM
Subject: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 17:54:50 -0500
From: "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
Don,
I was just expanding a little on Anthony Stadlen's comment that
Humbert alludes
to the chapter in Ulysses that was called by both Joyce and one of his
earliest
assistants and explicators "Aeolus," referring to wind, but also to music.
the
aeolian harp being an instrument in which the unaided natural wind creates
music by blowing through a box-like device strung with string to evoke
chordal
arrangements. Joyce and Stuart Gilbert contrived a chart or "schema" in
which
all of the chapters in Ulysses was assigned a guiding theme, generally drawn
from classical allusions.
In the Ormonde Hotel chapter, what goes on, beneath a form of
writing that
Joyce intended to invoke both wind, or winds, and music, are the events I
describe. I have just been rereading some Joyce and so this was fresh in my
mind, although I am at work right now and don't have any of my Joyce
apparatus
at hand.
> Bloom comes in to have some supper. Blazes Boylan is passing through and
stops
for a drink of sloe gin. He's drinking this sweet red liquor that day, and
carrying a red "bloom," I think a rose, in his mouth, which he has bought
that
morning, as well as some gifts to be sent to Molly. Leopold Bloom is sitting
in
the diningroom at the Ormonde, sharing a table, as it happens, with Stephen
Daedalus's (or his father Simon's) cousin, Dennis Breen. Simon Daedalus
arrives. This is all at about four in the afternoon. Bloom is daydreaming
and
worrying a little about his daughter, 15-year-old Milly, who is away by the
seaside at her first job, as assistant to a photographer.
>
> Blazes Boylan and a Dublin bum and racing sport named Lenehan convince one
of
the two barmaids, one of whom is a blonde and the other a redhead, to snap
her
garter. This sound Joyce wants as part of a symphony he is creating for his
readers. He also wants this erotic pause, or end stop.
>
> Simon Daedalus, has an outstanding tenor voice, though he has made no use
of
any of his gifts. He's prevailed upon to sing for those gathered in the
Hotel
(there is music in the hotel everyday at about this time, it seems. He does
so, to great emotion among his friends.
>
I think this chapter in Uly had a very big influence on Nabokov in
writing
Lolita. But it would take a note even longer and possibly more tedious than
this one to explain why.
It has to do with a number of things taking place simultaneously,
and creating
symphonic movements. Remember in Lolita, the passage where Charlotte is
killed
and how HH or VN describes all the images in a rapid fire way? Also, I think
there is much in Lolita that develops in fugue-like, symphonic ways. Again,
hard to describe briefly.
Has any of this helped? In my previous post I guess I tried to write
in a way
that would have rhymed in a very very minor way with Joyce's tone. Don't by
any
means allow yourself to post it if it doesn't make sense to you.
Andrew
l'oeuvre ormonde du sublime dublinois" (as Humbert puts it in
>> "Lolita"), the
>> Ormonde
>> Hotel chapter in "Ulysses" by Joyce (
ANDREW BROWN
ACD: Copy
Chrysler Integrated Marketing
248.293.4391
BBDO DETROIT
> ----------
> From: Donald B. Johnson
> Sent: Friday, March 4, 2005 5:09 PM
> To: Brown, Andrew
> Subject: Spam: Fwd: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
>
> Andrew...you've lost me here. Can you provide some context? Best, Don
>
>
>
> Quoting "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>:
>
> > Aeolus, on the Gilbert Stuart schema,
> > where Bloom and Boylan briefly cross paths.
> > Bloom daydreams and worries a litle about his daughter Milly,
> > away by the seaside at her first job.
> > Blazes Boylan and Lenehan convince
> > one of the bronze and gold barmaids to snap her garter.
> > And Simon Daedalus sings.
> >
> > Andrew
> >
> >> ----------
> >> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson>
> >> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >> Sent: Wednesday, March 2, 2005 11:45 AM
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Subject: Spam: Fwd: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
> >>
> >> <<File: ATT1870904.htm>>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Forwarded message from STADLEN@aol.com -----
> >> Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 04:23:50 EST
> >> From: STADLEN@aol.com
> >> Reply-To: STADLEN@aol.com
> >> Subject: Re: Two notes on ADA
> >> To:
> >>
> >> In a message dated 02/03/2005 01:14:35 GMT Standard Time,
> >> chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu writes:
> >>
> >> > wee winds go free at table, circa 1882
> >>
> >> I expect it has already been pointed out that this is an allusion to
> >> "l'oeuvre ormonde du sublime dublinois" (as Humbert puts it in
> >> "Lolita"), the
> >> Ormond
> >> Hotel chapter in "Ulysses" by Joyce (b. 1882).
> >>
> >> Anthony Stadlen
> >>
> >> ----- End forwarded message -----
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> > confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient,
> > please refrain from any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of
> > this information. Please be aware that such actions are prohibited.
> > If you have received this transmission in error, kindly notify us by
> > calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate
> > your cooperation.
>
>
>
>
>
----- End forwarded message -----
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry Don,
I was just expanding a little on Anthony Stadlen's comment that Humbert
alludes to the chapter in Ulysses that was called by both Joyce and one of his
earliest assistants and explicators "Aeolus," referring to wind, but also to
music. the aeolian harp being an instrument in which the unaided natural wind
creates music by blowing through a box-like device strung with string to evoke
chordal arrangements. Joyce and Stuart Gilbert contrived a chart or "schema" in
which all of the chapters in Ulysses was assigned a guiding theme, generally
drawn from classical allusions.
In the Ormonde Hotel chapter, what goes on, beneath a form of writing that
Joyce intended to invoke both wind, or winds, and music, are the events I
describe. I have just been rereading some Joyce and so this was fresh in my
mind, although I am at work right now and don't have any of my Joyce apparatus
at hand.
Bloom comes in to have some supper. Blazes Boylan is passing through and
stops for a drink of sloe gin. He's drinking this sweet red liquor that day,
and carrying a red "bloom," I think a rose, in his mouth, which he has bought
that morning, as well as some gifts to be sent to Molly. Leopold Bloom is
sitting in the diningroom at the Ormonde, sharing a table, as it happens, with
Stephen Daedalus's (or his father Simon's) cousin, Dennis Breen. Simon Daedalus
arrives. This is all at about four in the afternoon. Bloom is daydreaming and
worrying a little about his daughter, 15-year-old Milly, who is away by the
seaside at her first job, as assistant to a photographer.
Blazes Boylan and a Dublin bum and racing sport named Lenehan convince one
of the two barmaids, one of whom is a blonde and the other a redhead, to snap
her garter. This sound Joyce wants as part of a symphony he is creating for his
readers. He also wants this erotic pause, or end stop.
Simon Daedalus, has an outstanding tenor voice, though he has made no use
of any of his gifts. He's prevailed upon to sing for those gathered in the
Hotel (there is music in the hotel everyday at about this time, it seems. He
does so, to great emotion among his friends.
I think this chapter in Uly had a very big influence on Nabokov in writing
Lolita. But it would take a note even longer and possibly more tedious than this
one to explain why.
It has to do with a number of things taking place simultaneously, and
creating symphonic movements. Remember in Lolita, the passage where Charlotte
is killed and how HH or VN describes all the images in a rapid fire way? Also,
I think there is much in Lolita that develops in fugue-like, symphonic ways.
Again, hard to describe briefly.
Has any of this helped? In my previous post I guess I tried to write in a
way that would have rhymed in a very very minor way with Joyce's tone. Don't by
any means allow yourself to post it if it doesn't make sense to you.
Andrew
l'oeuvre ormonde du sublime dublinois" (as Humbert puts it in
>> "Lolita"), the
>> Ormonde
>> Hotel chapter in "Ulysses" by Joyce (
ANDREW BROWN
ACD: Copy
Chrysler Integrated Marketing
248.293.4391
BBDO DETROIT
----------
From: Donald B. Johnson
Sent: Friday, March 4, 2005 5:09 PM
To: Brown, Andrew
Subject: Spam: Fwd: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
Andrew...you've lost me here. Can you provide some context? Best, Don
Quoting "Brown, Andrew" <Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>:
> Aeolus, on the Gilbert Stuart schema,
> where Bloom and Boylan briefly cross paths.
> Bloom daydreams and worries a litle about his daughter Milly,
> away by the seaside at her first job.
> Blazes Boylan and Lenehan convince
> one of the bronze and gold barmaids to snap her garter.
> And Simon Daedalus sings.
>
> Andrew
>
>> ----------
>> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
>> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 2, 2005 11:45 AM
>> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>> Subject: Spam: Fwd: Re: Two notes on ADA (pet)
>>
>> <<File: ATT1870904.htm>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Forwarded message from STADLEN@aol.com -----
>> Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 04:23:50 EST
>> From: STADLEN@aol.com
>> Reply-To: STADLEN@aol.com
>> Subject: Re: Two notes on ADA
>> To:
>>
>> In a message dated 02/03/2005 01:14:35 GMT Standard Time,
>> chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu writes:
>>
>> > wee winds go free at table, circa 1882
>>
>> I expect it has already been pointed out that this is an allusion to
>> "l'oeuvre ormonde du sublime dublinois" (as Humbert puts it in
>> "Lolita"), the
>> Ormond
>> Hotel chapter in "Ulysses" by Joyce (b. 1882).
>>
>> Anthony Stadlen
>>
>> ----- End forwarded message -----
>>
>>
>
>
> This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient,
> please refrain from any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of
> this information. Please be aware that such actions are prohibited.
> If you have received this transmission in error, kindly notify us by
> calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate
> your cooperation.
----- End forwarded message -----