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

[Dedalus]

V.V.(4): Impersonation I --- Notes, Comments, and Queries II (pp. 59-62)

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~~ Notes:

60.01 --- Mohammed Ali: (aka Mehemet) was an officer in the Albanian
army who was sent to Egypt on the French invasion of 1798. He became
very powerful in Egypt, became viceroy in 1805 and greatly improved the
prosperity and military power of Egypt; he improved the harbor and
constructed canals, his greatest being the Mahmudiyeh Canal which
fertilized anew the environs of Alexandria.
http://www.eosinc.com/al-yawmiyaat/MuHammadAliyscroll1.htm

60.06 --- "Alexandria": A port city of northern Egypt, where the Nile
River flows into the Mediterranean Sea, on a strip of land between Lake
Mareotis and the sea. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, it was
the capital of ancient Egypt.
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sunken/

60.07 --- "Midi": the south of France

60.09 --- "Baedekers": Baedeker, Karl (1801-1859); the first Baedeker
guidebook was published in 1839.
http://www.britannica.com/seo/k/karl-baedeker/

cf. _Slow Learner_ : "If [...] you believe that nothing is original, and
that all writers 'borrow' from 'sources,' there still remains the
question of credit lines or acknowledgments. It wasn't till 'Under the
Rose' (1959) that I could bring myself, even indirectly, to credit
guidebook eponym Karl Baedeker, whose guide to Egypt for 1899 was the
major 'source' for the story. [...] "Loot the Baedeker I did, all the
details of a time and place I had never been to, right down to the names
of the diplomatic corps" (p.17).  "[...] The old Baedeker trick again."
(p.21)

60.10 --- "Pharos": 450-foot high lighthouse built by Ptolemy II.
Philadephus in 280-279 BC on the island of the same name off Alexandria.
One of the seven wonders of the world, it was destroyed in an earthquake
in 1375.
http://www.greece.org/alexandria/pharos/
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/

61.04 --- "macquereau": a pimp; a procurer

61.21 --- "Pazzo son . . . chiedo pieta!" :  Italian translates into:
"Crazy son! / Look how I am crying and begging . . . How I ask pity!"
I'm not an aficionado of Italian opera, but I'm guessing this could be
from _La Traviata_, by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901).  Of course, given
Pynchon's penchant for Rossini, therein may lie the key. However, I
defer to the more operatic p-listers for confirmation of any of this.
http://lascala.milano.it/eng/1994_95/opera/traviata/soggetto.html
http://php.indiana.edu/~lneff/libretti/traviata.html

62.15 --- "Hotel Khedival": in Alexandria, across the street from the
Austrian Consulate

62.16 --- "rue de Ras-et-Tin": in the Turkish quarter


~~ Comments:

This section continues the notion of "appearances" and deception through
the introduction of cafe waiter P. Aieul, who is "outwardly inert but
teeming inside with sad and philosophical reflections" (60.03).  He
prefers that the city's tourists allow themselves to "be deceived into
thinking the city something more that what their Baedekers said it was"
(60.08), and after Goodfellow ("Fat") and Porpentine ("Tweed") leave the
cafe, Aieul dozes against the wall, giving himself up --- like young
Stencil --- to dreams.

This section concludes with references to geometrical shapes and
alignments: the equestrian statue stands "horizontal and vertical"
(62.03), both figures similar in color "though one hanging back diagonal
in deference to his partner" (62.07).  The horse and man are further
described as "displaceable, like minor chess pieces, anywhere across
Europe's board" (62.06).  After Fat and Tweed leave Place Mohammed Ali,
"[l]ow places in the square filled, the usual random sets of
criss-crossing concentric circles mov[ing] across them" (62.22).

The entire section has a certain "artistic" aura about it.  The
characters, the wind and rain, and the overall landscape are described
in visual terms like a painting.  Sound, language,  and music are
important to the events Aieul describes.  And the activity between Fat
and Tweed has a choreographed feel to it, like stage directions or even
ballet.  Is this intentional?  If so, what is the significance?

Interestingly, of the three different characters around whom the
Impersonations center, P. Aieul seems the least interested in the
circumstances he witnesses as he "loung[es] near the entrance to the
cafe" (60.03); he possesses a jaded, world weariness quality, and only
seems to notice the Victoria Wren et al references out of sheer
boredom.  Even though he is "teeming inside with sad and philosophical
reflections" (60.04), he shows evidence of being annoyed, and even
pained, by the two Englishmen (and English tourists in general).


~~ Queries:

1.  As Fat and Tweed are preparing to leave the cafe, in the
parenthetical paragraph on p. 62, Pynchon (or is it Aieul?) ponders:
"might they be trying not to remember that each square in Europe,
however you cut it, remains inanimate after all?"  Are "they" Fat and
Tweed, or the horse and statue?  How does that distinction alter the
meaning of the question?  How does the question reflect previous notions
of the "inanimate" that we've explored?  How does the point-of-view of
the paragraph affect the meaning of the question?

2.  There are numerous references to colors (both specific and general)
sprinkled throughout this section, as well as the next two sections.  Is
there a significance in terms of light/dark imagery?  How does color
imagery function in this work, as well as other works by Pynchon?

3.  What evidence do you see that P. Aieul is an "Impersonation" of
Stencil's?


~~ Related Links:

Egypt: Destination -- Alexandria
http://touregypt.net/alex.htm

Libya: Our Home
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dr_ibrahim_ighneiwa/