Atdtda29: Relapse, 815-817

[Paul Nightingale]

Cyprian becomes Cyprienne; and Yashmeen "ha[s] a relapse into her old
Zetamania" until "she [is] more immediately concerned with the loss of her
hat ..." etc (816). Her appearance is transformed, "hair progressively
loosening"; and then, "just in that instant", Vlado Clissan appears,
confirming the substitution announced ("I'll put you in touch ...") on 813.

As the section begins: "Yashmeen ... lounge[s] awhile, beaming mindlessly
upon the shifting scene" (815). Cf. Cyprian earlier, "glanc[ing] about at
the overcast day, the indifference of commerce ..." etc (814). Where Cyprian
is alienated from what goes on round him, Yashmeen is at ease. The "old
Zetamania" echoes Cyprian's own "relapse" upon recalling Theign's
Strichmadchen; however, Yashmeen is "released into her past". This brief
reverie is disturbed by "the loss of her hat" (816); and then, down the
page, the importance of "keep[ing] some attachment to [geometry]".

Hence, the meeting with Vlado, a collision, where Cyprian had been a voyeur.
On 814, the "damnable stricture in Cyprian's throat"; on 817, Yashmeen's
"conversational resources faltered".

The writing of sex here ("... she felt every divided second of his entry and
penetration") is juxtaposed to an earlier moment with Cyprian, Yashmeen
"pretend[ing] to run him through with her parasol" (814). She is reflective
here, observing her own participation: "... her clitoris was being addressed
in an unfamiliar way, not rudely, actually quite considerately, perhaps it
was the angle ... but how could she be thinking of geometry ..." (816).
Again, cf. the opening lines: "... beaming mindlessly ..." etc (815). The
previous section, from Cyprian's pov: "It was difficult to tell what
Yashmeen was thinking as she offered her lips" (815).