ATDTDA (18): There isn't one of us, 494-495

[Paul Nightingale]

A dialogue passage in which Yashmeen defends Cyprian, and herself, from
Times 3. She protests, not always with conviction, that "old Cyps is all
right" and "he makes me laugh", the latter a defence "one does hear, more
often than one would care to", according to "serious Noellyn". Here,
Cyprian's inferior social status is marked by his inability to dance, upon
which "Lorelei, Noellyn and Faun [comment] in unison": this opening phase
continues the refusal of the preceding section to differentiate between
them, offer them any kind of distinguishing characteristics. One can
appreciate the irony here, given that Cyprian has been associated with
nouveau riche standardised production. The "fully equipped ideologie" (493)
represented by the blonde and socially 'superior' threesome is itself a
standardised closed shop.

Subsequently, Noellyn is "the thoughtful one" and "serious" (494); for
Yashmeen, she has her "enchanting nose always in a book". Given her vacuous
contributions this far one might think this is a mockery of what passes for
"serious" and also an attempt to undermine the arbitrary way in which
characterisation for the sake of it will be provided. The reading position
is one that fails to provide any kind of enlightenment: from a distance
Times 3 appear inscrutable. From within, an unnamed blonde insists on
Grossmith Jr being differentiated from Grossmith Sr (495), although the
question implicitly accepts Yashmeen's "there isn't one of us" (494).

Yashmeen fails to respond to their challenge, to put any effort into
defending Cyprian: possibly a comment on her feelings for him, but just as
much an indicator of her disdain for Times 3.