Atdtda38: Selections from her life, 1065-1068 #2

[Paul Nightingale]

When last seen, Dally was a London celebrity, described on 898-899 as an
object of consumption, the context for Crouchmas to appear as 'her newest
faithful suitor' (899). His subsequent betrayal of her sees Kit play the
part of hero; and this allows the narrative to focus on Dally as an
individual, that is, on a relationship with Kit that distances them from all
others and even includes role-play (910). As a celebrity, Dally is to be
looked at; however, on 916, 'nobody seem[s] to be watching them' (cf the
'wedding present [they] had given to themselves', 1066). By now Crouchmas is
her 'old beau' (917; earlier, on 909, a 'miserable toad') as Dally speaks of
returning to the London stage (918), a move that might take her away from
Kit, who looks ahead to 'find[ing] some work up in Italy' (in the meantime,
of course, they live off Crouchmas' money).

Consequently one might say that, as written, their relationship is far from
stable. Dally reappears in the form of her image, 'clippings ...' etc on
1046 and then the photo Merle uses on 1061 to invoke her presence in Paris
(and one might note that Merle's gaze pays particular attention to the
'Béthenod-Latour alternator'). In the new chapter the tourists on 1066
appear to have no interest in Dally herself, which suggests a loss of
celebrity status. At this time, then, Dally is re-established as free of
celebrity-prostitution and also independent of Kit. It is now Kit who, in
his absence, must be represented by 'different stamps and postmarks' (1067).
At L’Hémisphère Dally's introspection ('selections from her life ...' etc)
provides representations that the reader is denied access to: hence, she
'brood[s] freely about her past' (1068). If, moreover, the lack of a
telephone deters American tourists, this location is contrasted to the café
the chapter opens with, as Dally herself is distanced from those tourists as
fellow Americans (cf the duet with La Jarretière on 1066). Finally, the
narrative voice that can generalise ('In those days ...' etc, 1068) also
contrasts with the chapter's opening lines: if Dally is now included within
the 'large American population’ it further undermines her earlier celebrity
status.



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