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

[Mike Jing]

I thought so as well. Fortunately it doesn't really affect the translation.

On Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 7:06 AM, Jochen Stremmel <jstremmel at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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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