VL--IV Passivity, more active thoughts

[bandwraith at aol.com]

Dubliners would most likely have faded into obscurity if
Joyce had not managed to pull off Ulysses. But, this
being January 6th- at least on this day- epiphany might
well beat out entropy.

As far as "The Dead"- both Michael and Gabriel are
angels. Gabriel, however, is much more shrewd. He's
also alive. Oh, he may pine- a bit masochistically- about
the fact that his wife lubes over Michael Fury's
memory, but, in the end, who's fucking her now?

All of Joyce's works sacrifice character for his rube
goldberg constructions. The Dead, like Pynchon's
The Secret Integration, is a little better, but it still
reeks of "idea" uber alles. Gabriel/Hermes must live
with survivors guilt over the pre-mature demise of
Michael/Apollo, to which his mousy wife will always
impossibly compare him, no matter how much he
makes her come. (But in the the apocryphal version,
never revealed before now, Gabe lets her drift off,
then sneaks down to the maid's quarters. He's back
before sunrise.)

Yes, dear.

At some point, of course, Ontology and Epistemology,
Michael and Gabriel, etc., are one, but what fun is
that? Better to let the heroes have their special day,
and wait for sunset. Keep cool- and have fun!