Atdtda34: Details one had simply ignored, 954-956 #2

[Paul Nightingale]

When born, Ljubica's "eyes [are] enormously given to all the world around
her" (949); and the subsequent passage dwells on Reef, "as he remembered
holding Jesse the first time", and Cyprian, "who took her warily" (950).
Yashmeen is curiously absent here, just as she is absent in the following
section, prevented by the child from joining the men "out in search of the
elusive 'Austrian minefield'". In this new section it is Reef's reaction to
the child that is emphasised: as his "second chance" (954) she is distanced
from her mother, even, by her "trooper's destiny". Cf Stray's comments on
Jesse: "... be drivin a rig next time I turn around" (646). In each case the
emphasis is on the child growing and becoming more independent, although
Yashmeen (top of 955) would hardly agree.

Then, "resuming the old resort life" takes the text from Reef's personal
recollection to a group recollection, "baby to the contrary
notwithstanding". Reef also recalls the "ancient proverb" that acts as a
determinant, an assurance that fate is predictable. The previous section
starts with nature always already there; here, we find another kind of
insertion into the always already there. But the world has moved on: "all
the prophesiers agreed ..." etc (955) is part of the shift to Yashmeen's
pov. We are reminded of what the men tell/don't tell her ("That neither
young man was bringing it up ..." etc, 954); and her lack of awareness
offers the reader a privileged position, one that effectively distances us
from her. Moreover, if Reef sees Ljubica's "trooper's destiny", the mother
sees a helpless infant: the men are "irresponsible" or "hebephrenic" (955),
not behaving as adults (perhaps regressing to childhood).

It is, nonetheless, the child who dictates the way the passage concludes:
she effectively leads the adults to the Halkata, which in turn leads to
Cyprian's final speech. The Halkata separates Cyprian from the others, but
the section ends with his recollection of "[t]he last time I was out here",
his speech covering the passage of time. He speaks, as it were, over a scene
cut ("... later that evening"), one that dismisses Reef, out raising hell
(956, cf 949).