Saturday, May 21, 2022

Alan Moore's Jerusalem: Book 3: Vernall's Inquest: Round the Bend: Line 45

Line 45: "With a gae spring in her stoop, she-sex out on her walk in purgress, on her wake-myop parundulations, on her expermission, heeding oft acrux the do-we grass twowords the poertree-line of the spinny wetting in the da'stance."

Non-Lucy-Lips Version: "With a gay spring in her step, she sets out on her walk in progress, on her wake-me-up perambulations, on her expedition, heading off across the dewy grass towards the tree line of the spinney waiting in the distance."

"gae"
Scottish for "go". With a gay spring in her step, Lucia "goes" toward the trees.

"spring"
A light prance to Lucia's movement with a call back to the discussion of the seasons.

"stoop"
Lucia's thoughts often contradict what's literally being said. So while she heads off to the trees with a gay spring in her stepped, she's actually stooped over, perhaps hobbling in her old age.

"she-sex out"
Why the dash here? To have the reader understand the "sex" in this moment has more to do with Lucia's gender than her lust? Perhaps she's simply "sexed out" because it's the morning and the young boys don't ramp up her sex drive until four o'clock when they walk by the hospital. So in the morning, she can simply get to her journey to the trees without being distracted by young butts.

"walk in purgress"
"Work in progress." One of Alma's paintings and a chapter in Jerusalem and also what James Joyce called Finnegans Wake as he was writing it and presenting snippets over the years.

"purgress"
"Progress" with "purge" and "grass" and "urge" and "ogress" (probably loads more!). "Ogress" only stands out for me due to the "she-sex" earlier. "Purge" may be the most relevant as Lucia's walk through the natural surroundings of the hospital help to purge her of negative thoughts and feelings associated with being locked up in the asylum. Also with "sex" earlier, her "urge" to continue her walk away from the confines of the hospital and into the far off grove of trees is primal.

"wake-myop"
More dashes but these more evidently due to the non-Lucy-Lips version of her thought: wake-me-up. The morning walks help to clear her head and make her ability to see things as they are less "myopic."

"parundulations"
"Perambulations." Lucia takes regular morning walks ("par", the norm, a regular activity for her) when the nurses allow it. "Undulating" probably refers to a sexual motion, referring back to "she-sex" and her earlier horny voyeurism.

"expermission"
Her expedition to the trees is a daily mission for her. She needs "permission" to make this journey.

"heeding"
As Lucia "heads" toward the trees, she pays close attention ("heeds"; she has woken up from her myopic, probably medicated/sedated, view) to her surroundings.

"oft"
Lucia makes this trip often, or as often as she is "permitted."

"acrux"
"Across" where "crux" literally means "cross" in Latin. Quite the clever bit while also recalling how Lucia is a puzzle and a crossword. "Crux" means the most important point at issue. It's the heart of the matter. Lucia is heading towards the main point of it all, perhaps metaphorically as well as literally. As she moves away from the hospital and the present, she goes deeper into her past and her memories to explore the issues that have gotten her to this point in her life.

"do-we"
Lots of words connected by dashes in this sentence. Perhaps because Lucia is dashing toward the grove? Yeah, probably not. But it would be a good thing to say to help fill out a paper on this chapter! "We" indicates that Lucia's thoughts are probably still with her and Giorgio, perhaps her and her dad since her dad is referred to at the end of this sentence.

"twowords"
Which two words?! This recalls Lucia as a crossword in that many clues in crosswords will indicate how many words an answer is. Perhaps the "crux" of the matter can be expressed in two words? Should I know what those two words are now? Are they statutory rape?

"poertree-line"
Lucia's way of speaking and thinking is "poetry." "Poverty line" as well being that Lucia lives in a mental hospital without access to any luxuries.

"spinney"
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a spinney is a small area of trees and bushes. It is Lucia's daily destination. Also "spin" as in dizzy, probably for the euphoria Lucia feels when she's allowed out of the ward.

"wetting"
"Wetting" couples with "do-we" earlier in that the grounds are still wet from the morning. It also sounds like "wedding" which also fits with "do-we" as in "I do" or a "pair of undulators" saying it ("We do").

"da'stance."
"Distance" with Lucia's "dad's stance." Her dad was often distant. Possibly referring to her dad's belief that Giorgio wasn't actually his kid which opens up the possibility for Lucia to have wedded Giorgio (you know, if things had worked out horrifically).

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