GRGR1: Discussion opener for section 1
David Evers
dme at nemesys.co.uk
Tue Sep 24 03:29:27 CDT 1996
Here's a question that's puzzling me -- can anyone help?
What's the deal with all the _iron_ in the first section?
Previous readings have conditioned me to expect the wood/coal/tar
business, with the later links to Gravity, organic synthesis and so on,
but the iron's got me stumped.
Some examples (paraphrases only, sorry):
p. 3 - an iron queen [presumably Victoria, but why?]
- iron (railway) tracks giving way to a coral-like and
mysteriously vital growth of rust
[weird: an entropic process -- oxidation of iron -- presented
as _vital_. Oh, perhaps this is a reference to oxidation of
haemoglobin in red blood cells?]
p. 4 - the iron hotel; (green) lights hanging from iron eaves
- the elevator: a wood scaffold, tarry ropes and cast-iron pulleys
(with spokes like Ss)
p. 5 - Pirate's blanket an orange, rust and scarlet tartan
p. 7 - the rooftop glasshouse [hothouse] is another crystal palace with
iron trusswork: how could any winter be gray enough to age
this iron that can sing in the wind?
[is the grayness here the "colour of lead" from p. 4?]
So what's the deal here? It feels to me, paranoid that I am, like more than
just structures from the dream carrying on into the waking world, but I can't
see why. Facts about iron that might at a stretch be relevant are that
- it has the most stable (tightly-bound) nucleus of any element
- ferromagnetism => compasses => pointing North/South
Any guesses?
Cheers,
---- Dave
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