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the text as a coherent whole: any interpretation given of a certain portion of a text can be accepted if it is confirmed, and must be rejectcd if it is challenged, by another portion of the same text. In this sense the internal textual coherence controls the otherwise uncontrollable drift of the reader. |
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7. Some Final Joycean Gossip |
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In the glorious A Wake Newslitter (October 1964, p. 13), Philip L. Graham suggests that the last historical event recorded in Finnegans Wake was the German-Austrian Anschluss. Ruth von Phul argues on the contrary that the latest historical allusion concerned the Munich Pact of September 3, 1938. While the reference to the Anschluss is proved by the presence of this word, the reference to the pact is a matter of clever conjectures. However, there is nothing repugnant in assuming that an author able to quote the Anschluss was also eager to quote the Munich Pact. |
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In the October 1965 issue, Nathan Halper argues that the conjecture about the Munich Pact can be challenged on the basis of a precise semantic analysis of the terms Joyce used, but he does not take a definite stand pro or con. He suggests, however, that Joyce could have used the word Anschluss in its customary and nonpolitical sense, and remarks that the political reading is not supported by the following context. If the strong conjecture about the Anschluss is weakened, then the weak one about the Munich Pact is seriously challenged. In order to show how easy it could be to find everything in Joyce, Halper makes the example of Beria: |
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Beria, December 9, 1938 (based on "berial," 415.31). "The Tale of the Ondt and the Gracehoper" is preceded by the phrase "So vi et!" This relates to the communal ant-society. One page later there is an allusion to a "berial.'' This is a variant of "burial." There seems to be no reason why Joyce should use it (rather than "burial") unless he is making an additional reference to that society. This time, by a reference to the Soviet functionary, Lavrenti Beria. He was not known in the Western world before December 9, when he was named Commissar of Internal Affairs. Prior to this he was merely a minor functional. Joyce wouldn't have known his name. Or, if he had, would have seen no point in using it. On this date the manuscript was at the printer's. But, instead of being a weakness, this is a strong point in the case. We know that he always made additions to the proofs. We would expect that some of the last-minute thoughts would come as a result of current events. It is not unlikely that the last historical event would be one he added in the proofs. All that remains is to check when it first appears. It is not present (though "So vi et" is) in transition 12, March 1928. Alas, it is |
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