Atdtda37: Nothing personal, it only happened a lot, 1051-1054 #2

[Paul Nightingale]

The second half of the section deals with Deuce's arrival and the
interaction between the two men. Deuce refuses to play the jealous husband
but is nonetheless hostile, allowing Lew to play detective: 'All day'
(1053). Deuce ('. don't you think?) appeals to him as a fellow man, and also
('. same 's yourself') a fellow worker.

As with Lake, the way Deuce is reintroduced highlights a desire to take the
observer out of the equation even when addressing him: Deuce's 'plain
indifference' following 'the beginnings of a smile [Lake] almost
contemptuously would not allow him to see any further stages of' (1051). The
first time Lake speaks to Deuce, she repeats the earlier movement, speaking
'over her shoulder, heading out of the room' (1052).

Similarly, the slapstick that ends the section ('Deuce crawling away out
onto the patio', 1054) might be said to parallel the sex scene for its lack
of plausibility. Moreover, Lake's 'wild parties . in the scandal sheets all
the time' (1052) is echoed by another recycled 'scenario', the story Deuce
proposes telling (1053). This latter moment is followed immediately by the
appearance of Shalimar (top of 1054), a Brechtian moment that depends on the
transformative nature of montage.

Before then, Deuce's 'displeased squint' (1053) has attempted to see into
Lew, interpreting his 'tone of voice' and, drawing from Lew, the suggestion
that Deuce direct him to get a better reading of the line. This passage is
the equivalent of the earlier sex scene, with Lew no longer an observer but
a participant; as did Lake before him, Deuce ends up on his hands and knees
(1054).

 

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