GRGR1: Discussion opener for section 1

[David Evers]

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