MDMD Sappho's Frag

[Judy Panetta]

Terrance wrote:
> >
> > Strange, didn't occur to me. I had the slight suspect that it could have
> > been Dixon corrected by Mason.
>OK, I give up, I'm completely confused by this fragment.

>The word "Dear" might be a clue, to me it sounds  as if the speaker is an
adult pedantically correcting a young lady. Certainly the word "dear" is not
enough to support this reading.

It's a tough one...

The retort to the frag I saw as gentle, the conversation involving any
number of relationships: wife-husband, parent-child, friends (although
probably not male). But I also thought it was Mason to Dixon...but then
there's that "dear." But the rest of segment seems a tad sloppy for
professional astronomers.

Perhaps the correction in regard to Sappho is a denial of the sunset and a
call for the dawn of a new era, er, new attitude. There was an indication
(hope?) that this might be the case for a short while at least...until it
went back to same ole same ole.

Not seeing the patriarchal oppression (of Woman and their sexuality, etc).
Care to elucidate? I'm guessing this question has resonance to an earlier
query.

Terrance:

>Just above this we meet a young man home from school, his name is
DePugh, he is the son of the arms dealer Le Spark. He says, "A Vector of
Desire," and someone says, "Thankee, DePugh, the phrase exact."

>The Rev.d says, to himself and to God, "God be merciful to him." This,
apparently because the young man has shown an early aptitude for
figures.

DePugh is the son of Ives...brother to J. Wade LeSpark, the arms dealer. No?
I had first thought that this family was middle, maybe upper middle class.
But happened upon a family history the other day--a name bandied about these
parts: DuPont. Read that the foundation of the DuPont fortune came from
selling arms during the War for Independence. DuPont...LeSpark. Hmmm. I'm
revising my opinion on the economic status of the family.

The Revd prays to God to be merciful...cus he fears the boy may carry on the
arms trade? Am I reading this right?

And what's with Aunt Euphie? And "Stuffy?"

The bull's eye...hmmm. Reminds me of the eyeglasses in Gatsby. Whew, ain't
that just too literal a leap, but seriously... the all seeing eye, watching
the piety by day, the transgression at night? The man paints a picture of a
community of slippery hypocrites, no? Perhaps it's heavenly accounting.