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

[Jochen Stremmel]

I read it different: from the sentence beginning with "The brown paper
bundle" his eyes are open, the edges of his sight are simply that, with
open eyes, otherwise the ladders couldn't "look" empty.

2017-07-18 12:56 GMT+02:00 Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>:

> 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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