Line 49: "Her Babbo's bibby is tocked in the smilest nookst, ind then Luukhere as a mer taddler, boock den winshe alice was his liddel girl, his larking-gloss."
Non-Lucy-Lips Version: "Her father's baby is tucked in the smallest nook, and then Lucia as a mere toddler, back then when she always was his little girl, his looking-glass."
"Babbo's"
James Joyce. In the edition of Ulysses that he dedicated to Lucia, he signed his name "Babbo."
Non-Lucy-Lips Version: "Her father's baby is tucked in the smallest nook, and then Lucia as a mere toddler, back then when she always was his little girl, his looking-glass."
"Babbo's"
James Joyce. In the edition of Ulysses that he dedicated to Lucia, he signed his name "Babbo."
"bibby"
A "baby" wears a "bib." "Babbo's bibby" also sounds like baby talk.
"tocked"
Like the tick of a clock which has caused Lucia to age from Babbo's baby to the old woman she now is.
"smilest"
Babies tend to smile and make people smile. At least that's what I've heard.
"nookst"
"Nook" with perhaps "nest," as in "nested Russian dolls." Also a baby bird ("bibby" for "birdy"?) would be "tucked" away in a nest.
"ind"
Alan Moore is going to drive me insane if he keeps replacing one vowel on an inconsequential word thus turning it into another inconsequential and often nonsense word which doesn't seem to shine any light on Lucia subconscious thoughts. I guess when she meant to stick the conjunction "and" in here, she was thinking about India? Perhaps it's as simple as "There was this baby doll and then the toddler doll which the baby doll was 'in'"?
"Luukhere"
The most twisted version of "Lucia" so far. Here name becomes "look here" or "luck here." Her subconscious sometimes doesn't expose secrets like how Giorgio was fucking her and her mom. Sometimes Lucia's subconscious simply reiterates what she's saying. So here we get Lucia pointing out the baby doll which is "in" the toddler doll which she wants us (the observers?) to see the dolls and exclaims, "Look here! It's me!" The "It's me!" comes through because it's Lucia's name which is being changed to "Look here!"
"mer taddler"
"Mer" as in "mermaid," or "of the sea." We've seen she's metaphorically been both water and fish so that continues. Perhaps it's because her mother's maiden name is Barnacle; perhaps it's just because of her connection to the River Liffey in one of her father's books. "Taddler" could be like a tadpole, another creature of the water. But it could also be "tattler" in that Lucia exposes her family secrets through her odd language. "Taddler" replaces "toddler" so it probably means Lucia was a bit of a tattletale when she was a young girl.
"boock den"
"Back then" but as a book and a den. A den is the lair of an animal and a book is where Lucia currently resides.
"winshe"
"When she" with a hint of "wish." Maybe Lucia "wishes" she were "back then" in the house ("den") with her "father" when he was writing his "books."
"alice was his liddel girl, his larking-gloss."
Alice Liddell was the girl Lewis Carroll based his character Alice (who adventured through the "looking glass"). There's speculation that Lewis Carroll may have had sexual feelings for Alice which parallel the thought that maybe Lucia and her father's relationship was too intimate.
"his larking-gloss"
"Larking" is to behave in a playful or mischievous way. Gloss is like the luster on a surface such as a "looking-glass." "Gloss" can also be to interpret a text as a reader would do reading this chapter. Lucia was James' "looking-glass" as she was a reflection of him. This could also suggest she was a muse for his "books" as he would look into her and his characters would reflect her personality.
A "baby" wears a "bib." "Babbo's bibby" also sounds like baby talk.
"tocked"
Like the tick of a clock which has caused Lucia to age from Babbo's baby to the old woman she now is.
"smilest"
Babies tend to smile and make people smile. At least that's what I've heard.
"nookst"
"Nook" with perhaps "nest," as in "nested Russian dolls." Also a baby bird ("bibby" for "birdy"?) would be "tucked" away in a nest.
"ind"
Alan Moore is going to drive me insane if he keeps replacing one vowel on an inconsequential word thus turning it into another inconsequential and often nonsense word which doesn't seem to shine any light on Lucia subconscious thoughts. I guess when she meant to stick the conjunction "and" in here, she was thinking about India? Perhaps it's as simple as "There was this baby doll and then the toddler doll which the baby doll was 'in'"?
"Luukhere"
The most twisted version of "Lucia" so far. Here name becomes "look here" or "luck here." Her subconscious sometimes doesn't expose secrets like how Giorgio was fucking her and her mom. Sometimes Lucia's subconscious simply reiterates what she's saying. So here we get Lucia pointing out the baby doll which is "in" the toddler doll which she wants us (the observers?) to see the dolls and exclaims, "Look here! It's me!" The "It's me!" comes through because it's Lucia's name which is being changed to "Look here!"
"mer taddler"
"Mer" as in "mermaid," or "of the sea." We've seen she's metaphorically been both water and fish so that continues. Perhaps it's because her mother's maiden name is Barnacle; perhaps it's just because of her connection to the River Liffey in one of her father's books. "Taddler" could be like a tadpole, another creature of the water. But it could also be "tattler" in that Lucia exposes her family secrets through her odd language. "Taddler" replaces "toddler" so it probably means Lucia was a bit of a tattletale when she was a young girl.
"boock den"
"Back then" but as a book and a den. A den is the lair of an animal and a book is where Lucia currently resides.
"winshe"
"When she" with a hint of "wish." Maybe Lucia "wishes" she were "back then" in the house ("den") with her "father" when he was writing his "books."
"alice was his liddel girl, his larking-gloss."
Alice Liddell was the girl Lewis Carroll based his character Alice (who adventured through the "looking glass"). There's speculation that Lewis Carroll may have had sexual feelings for Alice which parallel the thought that maybe Lucia and her father's relationship was too intimate.
"his larking-gloss"
"Larking" is to behave in a playful or mischievous way. Gloss is like the luster on a surface such as a "looking-glass." "Gloss" can also be to interpret a text as a reader would do reading this chapter. Lucia was James' "looking-glass" as she was a reflection of him. This could also suggest she was a muse for his "books" as he would look into her and his characters would reflect her personality.
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