Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Alan Moore's Jerusalem: Book 3: Vernall's Inquest: Round the Bend: Line 25

Line 25: "Of curse, it wurd make plaint for alter see why they t'woo had insested she be liplocked with insanatoriums, fear Luci-lippi was heir poppy's seed, his sperkle efferdent in all she set or dit, they way she allwise spoke her wheel, whoreas in Dirgeo was not a wit o' the same subsdance to be scene."

Non-Lucy-Lip Version: "Of course, it would make plain for all to see why they too had insisted she be locked within a sanatorium, for Lucia was her father's daughter, his sparkle evident in all she said or did, the way she always spoke her will, whereas in Giorgio was not a whit of the same substance to be seen."

"curse"
Perhaps an indication that Lucia was cursed by her mother and brother to be locked in an asylum because of the terrible things she knew. Or the "curse" just references the incest taking place within the family. I should note once again that this incest could very possibly all stem from Lucia's schizophrenia and how it distorts her world and the things she observes.

"wurd make plaint"
"Would" with the suggestion of "words." All of Lucia's unconscious thoughts, memories, hallucinations, and beliefs come out in the garbled words of her Lucy-lips. All of her thoughts lying under the surface are made plain to see by the strange words she speaks.

"plaint"
"Plaint" as in plaintive, sounding sad and mournful. Lucia's confessions of her family life are a sad tale of childhood trauma. Also suggestive of "plaintiff" as in somebody who brings a case against somebody else in a court of law. Interpreting this word as "plaintiff" becomes important for the rest of this sentence as we see that Lucia was possibly put into an asylum by her family because of the terrible secrets she could bring against them with her "wurds".

"alter see"
Lucia's memories are almost certainly altered through the veneer of her mental illness. "Plain for all to see" suggests her eye witness testimony to her family's incest would be obvious if she were to recount them to people. But the "plain to see" butts up against "alter" in that her witness isn't exactly reliable.

"t'woo had insested"
Some "woo" and "incest" to remind everybody of the things Lucia knew that she believes got her placed within this sanatorium. Of course the two people having an incestuous relationship would want to lock the only witness to that relationship in an insane asylum so that she couldn't talk, or wouldn't be believed if she did.

"liplocked with insanatoriums"
"Locked within sanatoriums" with an emphasis on "insanity." Beginning the entire phrase with "lip" suggests Lucia was put there to be kept silent or "liplocked." It could also be a reference to her entire way of speaking which is described throughout the novel as having "Lucy Lips."

"fear"
"For" has been replaced with "fear" to suggest that Nora and Giorgio feared Lucia because of what she knew but also resented her because she was so obviously James Joyce's daughter while the parentage of Giorgio, Nora's love and James' "sun", was in doubt.

"Luci-lippi"
The name for the way Lucia speaks stated nearly outright here: "Lucy lips." This also probably refers to the dramatic monologue "Fra Lippo Lippi" by Robert Browning in which the narrator of the poem exposes terrible secrets through a seemingly normal monologue. It's what everybody "fears" Lucia will do, and what she is currently doing. Locking her away at least makes it seem as if the things she says are simply the ramblings of a crazy person (which they may be! See? Even I'm buying into Nora and Giorgio's plan!).

"heir poppy's seed"
Lucia is obviously James' daughter, heir to his name and legacy and way of seeing the world. "Poppy's seed" also suggests opiates with which Lucia is probably constantly (and currently) partially sedated.

"his sperkle"
She was definitely conceived by the sperm of James Joyce while Giorgio may not have been.

"efferdent"
"Evident" mixed with "effervescent." Lucia's personality, vivacious and "sperkling," recalls that of her father.

"set or dit"
"Said or did." The "set" could recall Lucia's belief that the doctors are actors and she is going through some kind of performance or living a fake reality. "Dit" is how one refers to the dots in Morse Code. Perhaps the suggestion being that Lucia is speaking in code (and she is!). Or perhaps this entire phrase, "set or dit," means something I'm missing.

"they way she"
Possibly sounds like "they wish," as in the family wished Giorgio could also have been so obviously James' son.

"allwise"
Lucia is wise in all things. Or at least her schizophrenia has her convinced she is (which is one thing schizophrenia is particularly good at).

"spoke her wheel"
Spokes have "the desirable characteristic of bending, twisting, and flexing when exposed to too much lateral, axial, or radial force" (quote from some a Google search on why wheels need spokes). Lucia is known for "speaking her will" but what are the truths and desires of which she speaks? Are they reality or based on the trauma of too much lateral, axial, and radial forces causing her mind to bend (Round the Bend), twist, and flex?

"whoreas"
Who is the whore this time? Maybe everybody!

"Dirgeo"
A dirge is a lament for the dead. At the time this bit of Lucia's story takes place, Giorgio is recently dead (by up to five years, depending on exactly when this story takes place. But not more than six as Lucia died six years after Giorgio) and James and Nora dead many decades previous. It's probably meant to make the reader think of Finnegans Wake as well.

"not a wit"
Giorgio showed not a "whit" of his father's personality but also Giorgio was not clever or "witty."

"subsdance"
Giorgio was perhaps a "substitute" in that the sperm from which he was conceived was not James's. Lucia was a professional dancer for some time. "Subsdance" could mean Giorgio was either a sub-par dancer and thus evidence he could not be Lucia's full sibling or perhaps he was, in some way, her substitute dance partner in that they were engaged in a sexual relationship while Giorgio was also engaged in a sexual relationship with Nora.

"scene"
Again, this all seems like a stage play to Lucia, unable to differentiate reality from fantasy.

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