Re: GR translation: But it’s what’s dancing dead-white and scarlet at the edges of his sight

[Mike Jing]

So the light is "suppressed" because his eyes are closed? That makes much
more sense now. Thanks, David.


On Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 5:02 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> He is afraid to open his eyes to all the "mortal possibilities."  He
> physically feels the paper bundle, "But it’s what’s dancing dead-white
> and scarlet at the edges of his sight . . . and are the ladders back up and
> out really as empty as they look? " (AKA those "mortal possibilities" that
> he may see when he opens his eyes) that is his primary concern.
>
> David Morris
>
> On Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 3:43 PM, Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> OK, but I'm still confused about the sentence structure. Does it mean
>> "But it’s what’s dancing dead-white and scarlet at the edges of his sight
>> [that occupies his attention]"? Or just "But there is something dancing
>> dead-white and scarlet at the edges of his sight"?
>>
>> Also, this part of the sentence is a statement, while the second part is
>> a question, which seems a bit odd. Wouldn't it make more sense to remove
>> the "it's" altogether? Of course, this is just me trying to make sense of
>> the sentence, and I could be totally off the mark.
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 3:47 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> " But it’s what’s dancing dead-white and scarlet at the edges of his
>>> sight" refers to his vision through his closed eyelids, which he is afraid
>>> to open.
>>>
>>> David Morris
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 2:41 PM, Mike Jing <
>>> gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> V532.1-8, P540.40-541.7  When the lights come back on, Slothrop is on
>>>> his knees, breathing carefully. He knows he will have to open his eyes. The
>>>> compartment reeks now with suppressed light—with mortal possibilities for
>>>> light—as the body, in times of great sadness, will feel its real chances
>>>> for pain: real and terrible and only just under the threshold. . . . The
>>>> brown paper bundle is two inches from his knee, wedged behind the
>>>> generator. But it’s what’s dancing dead-white and scarlet at the edges of
>>>> his sight . . . and are the ladders back up and out really as empty as they
>>>> look?
>>>>
>>>> What is implied in this part of the sentence, since it seems
>>>> structurally incomplete (I'm expecting a "that" clause at the end)? Or does
>>>> "it" here refer to something specific?
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
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