V.V.(4): Summary of Prologue and Impersonations I, II, and III

[Dedalus]

V.V.(4): Summary
------------------------

The following summary and all subsequent "Notes, Comments, and Queries"
posts pertain to _V._ Chapter Three (pp. 57-74 in the Harper Perennial
edition).  This week's reading, as you know, includes a brief "Prologue"
or sorts, followed by Impersonations I, II, and III.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Prologue" (pp. 57-59):

Young Herbert Stencil's preoccupation with the letter V manifests itself
in dreams, weekly dreams in which he would liken the pursuit of V. to a
"scholar's quest" . . . yet, upon awakening, discover that his pursuit
is "simple-minded, literal," and solely for his own amusement.  Stencil,
we learn, refers to himself in the third person .  Drowsing in
Bongo-Shaftsbury's apartment, he examines his sole souvenir of his
father's Maltese adventure, a postcard depicting a battle photo of a
mustachioed German enlisted man on a stretcher, and Stencil reads the
brief message written by his father, Sidney.  Young Stencil hadn't
responded to the message from his father, and he realizes now that
"neither of them had communicated since the picture-postcard."  Stencil
concludes by contemplating one Porpentine, a one-time colleague of his
father's who was murdered in Egypt, and to what extent Porpentine,
referred to by "veiled references" in the journals, could foresee his
own death --- perhaps to what extent his own father could have foreseen
his own death --- but Stencil would "have no real way of telling"
without the use of "impersonation and dream."

* cf. V.V.(4): Notes, Comments, and Queries I


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Impersonation I" (pp.59-62):

The section opens on a partly cloudy afternoon at the Place Mohammed
Ali, a cafe in Alexandria.  The waiter and "amateur libertine" is P.
Aieul, who watches his lone customer, an Englishman in tweeds named
Porpentine, sip coffee. While Aieul contemplates the nature of tourists
in his city, a second Englishman calls Porpentine from across the square
and joins him at the table (we later discover that this is Goodfellow).
It begins raining. Aieul serves them, and eavesdrops on their
conversation, in which he notes the name of "Victoria Wren" and an
anarchist plot to assassinate Sir Alastair Wren at a "grand party" at
the Austrian Consulate tonight. An envelope is passed between the two
Englishmen, who break into verses of an Italian opera before leaving the
cafe in separate directions.  Aieul falls asleep against the wall, amid
dreams of Maryam.  About 8 p.m. the rain abates.

* cf. V.V.(4): Notes, Comments, and Queries II


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Impersonation II" (pp. 62-66):

That evening, we meet Yusef, an anarchist kitchen worker and waiter who
comes to work at the Austrian Consulate, "temporarily on loan from Hotel
Khedival."  He engages in friendly cultural "trash talk" with Meknes,
leader of the kitchen help, and quickly mans the punch table to ladle
out Chablis punch, admire the elegant women, and contemplate the current
political situation (involving the English and French presence in the
Nile Valley). A balloon-girl holds an empty cup out to him, prompting
Yusef to silently question how he'd cope with having to sacrifice the
lives of children for "the Cause."  Finally, he sees Victoria Wren, and
throughout the evening periodically returns to serve her.  He watches as
she converses with Porpentine, Goodfellow, her sister Mildred, a
gray-haired gentleman resembling a street-fighter (Sir Alastair Wren),
and eventually Lepsius (in blue-tinted spectacles and a false nose).
While carrying five cups of punch, Porpentine trips and falls down the
stairs, where he then shares a cigarette and some light laughter with
Sir Alastair Wren. >From a distance, Yusef carefully observes these
various characters and questions their possible connection to the
current political situation.  Meknes returns, and exchanges barbs with
Yusef once more.

* cf.  V.V.(4): Notes, Comments, and Queries III


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Impersonation III" (pp. 66-74):

This section opens at midday in the Fink restaurant, a cafe in Place
Mohammed Ali.  The reader is introduced to Maxwell Rowley-Bugge (aka
Ralph MacBurgess), a penniless English vagrant whose past exploits
included performing in England's vaudeville circuits and capturing the
hearts of young girls (specifically, one "Alice" --- a ten-year-old who
revealed her liaison with the man to a girlfriend, only to have word get
to her parents, clergyman, and the local police). Now Old Max wanders in
exile about Alexandria in search of tourists, food, money, a place to
sleep for the night. As Fink's becomes more crowded, Old Max spies four
people who enter: Porpentine, Goodfellow, and the Wren sisters. He
engages in winsome conversation at their table, speculating on a variety
of things as he does so (the possibility of the restaurant filling with
the entire vagrant population of Alexandria, the similarities between
his "Alice" and young Mildred, his own exile from the English
vaudevillian world), but soon recognizes a disquieting aura about the
foursome. Hugh Bongo-Shaftsbury suddenly joins them at the table,
followed by a German in blue eyeglasses named Lepsius.  Old Max
carefully observes the others at the table, noting to himself the
dialogue, the reactions, the unspoken allegiances among the group.  At
closing time, Old Max accompanies the others out the door and casually
solicits Porpentine for some money, yet turns and walks away as
Porpentine holds the money out to him.

* cf. V.V.(4): Notes, Comments, and Queries IV

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* Notes for these posts were researched in part thru:

Thomas Pynchon's V. (1963)
http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/v/v-novel-f.html