Tuesday, May 20, 2014

May 1923?? Issy level one


For her prudence she always left the key of her press in the lock of her press, the pen of the inkbottle in the neck of the ink bottle. Never were they lost. For her learning in geog she knew that Italy was a jackboot, India a pink ham and France a patched quilt. For her charm she knew how to stagemanage her legs in the several positions of goody twoshoes, aunty Nance, stepladder, green peas, love me little, funny toast, lovers' lever, love me long. For her health only her in the house got the measles when she was a bottlefed babe. For her piety Isolde's night prayer and orison so ran: — Howfar wartnevin alibithename Kingcome illbedone nerth tisnevin. Usisday daybread givesdressp sweegivethem dresspas gainstus leesnot tootntation liversm evil Men.
For her learning in zoog she knew lamb, lamb a young sheep. For her domestic economy she cleaned the chimneyflue by setting fire to an Irish Times and hooshing it blazing up the flue and she washed the hall by standing leaving her wet umbrella ?dreeping open in a corner. For her pity there were times she even pitied the damned old devil himself fanning himself with his asbestos slippers in the coolingroom in hell. For her charity one day when it was sneezing cold she met a beggargirl in the park and, having no small change about her, she went behind a bramblebush, slipped off her petticoat and gave it to the beggargirl who instantly disappearing (she having been in point of fact Saint Dympna) along with the petticoat. On another occasion there was a pestilence caused by a certain dragon who said it would go on for ever unless she took off all her clothes and walked from Cape Clear to Mizzen Head. So she did this. And everybody pulled down all their blinds in Ireland. The dragon was then converted and entered a convent. [ms]


we can look first for echoes of Lucia (now 16yo) and Nora, with Scribbledehobble notes under Eveline and Nausikaa

  1. prudence
  2. learning in geog
  3. charm
  4. health
  5. piety
  6. learning in zoog
  7. domestic economy
  8. pity
  9. charity
these seem like a fairly random selection of conventional feminine virtues (minus cooking)


For her prudence she always left the key of her press in the lock of her press, the pen of the inkbottle in the neck of the ink bottle. Never were they lost.

phrases like "For her prudence" usually follow 'she was praised'.
here's a 1706 example referring to the Church of England

(laziness not prudence)


For her learning in geog she knew that Italy was a jackboot, India a pink ham and France a patched quilt.

"geog" is almost always an abbreviation for geography, but one very-very-longshot exception is a Persian village of Nestorians called Geog Tapa

cf VI.A Eveline (July): "York on map red (rose)"

jackboots in 1923 hadn't yet become associated with fascism


pink... ham?

patched quilt

For her charm she knew how to stagemanage her legs in the several positions of goody twoshoes, aunty Nance, stepladder, green peas, love me little, funny toast, lovers' lever, love me long.

"stagemanage" acting class, or dance class?

goody twoshoes [ebook]
aunty Nance ['aunt Nancy' = gay man?]
stepladder [how to climb a ladder modestly?]
green peas
love me little [cf "love me long", below]
funny toast [speech before drinking]
lovers' lever [love her and leave her? or a trick for lovers-plural to control each other's motion??]
love me long [using legs to signal degree of desire??]

Lucia would study Dalcroze c1926:
Dalcroze positions?
cf yoga?
cf kama sutra???
 'If our young friends can become members of a good good dancing-class to which nice young people belong, they will improve in the proper use of arms and legs' [1913]


For her health only her in the house got the measles when she was a bottlefed babe.

breastfeeding was believed better than bottle for resisting contagious diseases like measles
measles was very common and usually mild
(but ctching measles nothing to brag about, unless it strengthened her immunity later? or was such vulnerability considered feminine??)
vaccines introduced 1963


For her piety Isolde's night prayer and orison so ran: —Howfar wartnevin alibithename Kingcome illbedone nerth tisnevin. Usisday daybread givesdressp sweegivethem dresspas gainstus leesnot tootntation liversm evil Men.

ORihzen (what are the implications of this term?)
(this wouldn't be Lucia, surely)

homonyms: wart, alibi, ill, dress, sweet, snot, toot, liver

      Howfar  Our Father
   wartnevin  who art in heaven
alibithename  hallowed be thy name
    Kingcome  Thy kingdom come
   illbedone  Thy will be done
       nerth  on earth
    tisnevin  as it is in heaven
     Usisday  Give us this day
    daybread  our daily bread
 givesdressp  and forgive us our trespasses
sweegivethem  as we forgive those
    dresspas  who trespass
    gainstus  against us
     leesnot  and lead us not
 tootntation  into temptation
     liversm  but deliver us from
    evil Men  evil Amen


 
For her learning in zoog she knew lamb, lamb a young sheep.

zoography is descriptive zoology
"lamb, lamb" suggests a nursery rhyme?


For her domestic economy she cleaned the chimneyflue by setting fire to an Irish Times and hooshing it blazing up the flue and she washed the hall by standing leaving her wet umbrella ?dreeping open in a corner.

Nora?
theory of chimney sweeps
"Irish Times" limits setting to Ireland
"dreeping" dripping + weeping?


For her pity there were times she even pitied the damned old devil himself fanning himself with his asbestos slippers in the coolingroom in hell.

asbestos slippers
fireproof fabrics made from asbestos have a long history, gradually abandoned for health reasons in the 20thC


For her charity one day when it was sneezing cold she met a beggargirl in the park and, having no small change about her, she went behind a bramblebush, slipped off her petticoat and gave it to the beggargirl who instantly disappeared (she having been in point of fact Saint Dympna) along with the petticoat.

'a sneezing cold' is a phrase
"small change" has referred to coins for centuries
"bramblebush" longshot: Brer Fox in Uncle Remus?

Dymphna
has Issy made up this story to explain where her petticoat disappeared to?


On another occasion there was a pestilence caused by a certain dragon who said it would go on for ever unless she took off all her clothes and walked from Cape Clear to Mizzen Head. So she did this. And everybody pulled down all their blinds in Ireland. The dragon was then converted and entered a convent.

"a certain dragon" individual identity/ personality, able to speak, capable of religion, female gender

cf Lady Godiva

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