ATDDTA(10) Stormy Weather [279:17-39]

[Keith]

[279:27] "single storm cloud"

Now we have Wren being compared to a storm cloud. Everything's  
doubled in this novel. Another "child of the storm?"

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[279:24-26] Tonight in the Albany [Hotel], Frank could see that Wren  
had arrived exactly here after unnumbered miles and Stations of the  
Cross"

Here we have the Stations of the Cross again calling us back to:

"As the Franciscans developed the Stations of the Cross to allow any  
parishioner to journey to Jerusalem without leaving his church- 
grounds, so have we been brought up and down the paths and aisles of  
what we take to be the all-but-boundless world, but which in reality  
are only a circuit of humble images reflecting a glory greater than  
we can imagine - to save us from the blinding terror of having to  
make the real journey, from one episode to the next of the last day  
of Christ on Earth, and at last to the real, unbearable  
Jerusalem." [251:32-39]

If we stay with the perspective presented by Miles, Wren's searching  
has been no more than a reflection of something more real. And, in  
this paragraph, her face is illuminated in an unshadowed celestial  
blue by the reflection of light off the Albany Hotel bar mirror.  
Thus, Wren here is a reflection of a greater glory. And - this stands  
in contrast to her image reflected in the Whorehouse of Mirrors - a  
polyhedral reflection of many sides of her from many angles.

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[279:33] "looked her flat in the eye."

More focus on eyes and eye-contact.

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[279:279:36] "hurdy girls"

Then, there was the other definition of a Hurdy Gurdy. Poor Hessian  
farmers in the 1820s made wooden brooms and fly-whisks during the  
winter to sell in summer at nearby markets, and the sales expanded  
into other German cities and town and eventually even to France and  
England. They found that their wares sold better if they brought  
along dancing girls who played the Hurdy Gurdy. This gave birth to a  
sort of 19th century "pimp" who would talk the parents of these young  
girls into letting them travel with him and entertain in dance halls  
on the promise they would send a fair portion of their earnings home.  
The poverty struck parents agreed, and the "Hurdy-Gurdy girls" and  
"Hessian Broom Girls" ended up all over the globe. Many travelled out  
to gold-rush California or Alaska, while others ended up in the  
Australia mining regions. By 1865, laws were passed in Germany to  
prevent the practise of enticing young girls into what was considered  
a debauch life, and the practise, at least in public, died out. The  
dance hall women provided entertainment and companionship for men,  
especially in the far west which at the time had a predominantly male  
population, in some areas over 90%. Arrayed in scandalous calf length  
skirts, they wore kid boots that often sported tassels, and stockings  
held up by garters. Their shirts were low cut and showed cleavage and  
they also wore make-up and often dyed their hair. The Hurdy Gurdy  
girls are an interesting part of the history of the old, wild west.

There was great joy at the arrival of the Hurdy girls. Four girls  
made up a typical Hurdy company, and they were generally accompanied  
by a
married couple, often with children of their own, who chaperoned them  
at all times, plus two or more musicians who usually played an  
accordion.
These girls traveled on foot from camp to camp, and remained in one  
camp as long as they made good money.. or married. The customer  
bought the girls tea or colored sugar water served in a shot glass  
thinking it was high priced whiskey. Then the dancing would begin  
again, and they got to dance with the girls for the five to fifteen  
alloted minutes. A girl might average 50 dances a night, which meant  
a lot of money. In the
Gold Rush years, dance halls spread rapidly around the mining camps.  
In some mining towns, hurdy houses had balconies where a rich  
prospector could sit and watch the girls below, sometimes showering  
his favorite dancer with gold dust. Miners also stuck gold nuggets  
into the Hurdy's bosom. Except in German beer halls, where wives or  
daughters of the owners worked, there was generally not a  
"respectable" female presence in 19th century saloons, and before the  
Hurdies came, the miners had to make their own all-male amusements  
and often had stag dances in the saloons, the ladies being  
represented by men with a white handkerchief tied about their arms.  
They danced the galop, a varsouvienne, waltz, mazurka, do-si-do, or a  
schottische. In the 1870s, the editor of one Western newspaper called  
the deeply appreciated diversions "wandering daughters from the sunny  
banks of the Oder, the Elbe, and the Rhine." Most were jovial  
escorts, what a cowboy or miner might think of as a drinking buddy  
with breasts. Saloon and dance hall women were not generally  
prostitutes, however some girls slipped into it due to hardship,  
abuse, drug addiction or alcoholism. Peer pressure and saloon rules  
tended to keep the men in line, and they generally treated the girls
respectfully and bought them gifts. On top of that, customers were  
sold dance tickets for 75¢ or even a $1.00 which the girls split with  
the saloon owner, and the girls also made a commission from the  
drinks that they sold. At certain points during the evening, the  
music would stop and the girls would steer the men to the bar.
http://www.exulanten.com/hurdy.html

"A hostess's main job was to sell drinks and provide visual  
entertainment for the gentlemen. A pretty face and the turn of an  
ankle would keep the fellas in the bar until their money was gone. To  
portray one of these ladies a normal day dress would be appropriate,  
with the small adjustment of the shortening of a skirt. For a Hurdy  
Girl- they might be found on stage or they might be dancing with "the  
boys". A slightly fancier dress and a slightly shorter skirt may be  
appropriate. Also in this category might fall the Can-Can girls.  
These girls would wear a very full knee-length dress. NOT in the job  
description for any of these girls would be selling their body,  
although it was known to happen on occasion when a girl was wanting  
to make extra money."
http://www.shootingstarhistory.com/soileddoves.html

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