tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072760.post5698184920033682805..comments2023-09-05T08:38:04.858+01:00Comments on Rameau's Nephew: 'Odalisque' by PF Jeffery (DFL's comments on Chapter 34)Nemonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13308850492930940749noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072760.post-8269418858007342632008-10-21T14:18:00.000+01:002008-10-21T14:18:00.000+01:00Tuerqui's difficulties with her hemline may sugges...Tuerqui's difficulties with her hemline may suggest someone too big for her clothes -- also echoing Alice growing to full size in the courtroom.<BR/><BR/>A difference between the trials of the Knave of Hearts and of the pollygoggers is that Alice is empowered, Tuerqui (at this stage) remains disempowered.<BR/><BR/><B><I>"Who cares for you?" said Alice (she had grown to her full size by this time). "You're nothing but a pack of cards!"</I></B><BR/><BR/>Tuerqui will find that she has power, but has yet to discover it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072760.post-16270224916528022782008-10-21T13:41:00.000+01:002008-10-21T13:41:00.000+01:00Pah! I thought about 'Alice' when reading the Pol...Pah! I thought about 'Alice' when reading the Pollygoggers' trial but failed to remember to mention it!!Nemonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13308850492930940749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072760.post-32932988309839393572008-10-21T13:15:00.000+01:002008-10-21T13:15:00.000+01:00Thank you for that.The missing full stop has now b...Thank you for that.<BR/><BR/>The missing full stop has now been inserted, thanks for pointing out its absence. (If the Microsoft grammar check was any use, it would have underlined the mistake in green, but it didn't. Pah!)<BR/><BR/>"as soft as scrumper's shit" is not only a good simile in general, but has added force in its context. It occurs whilst Tuerqui's father is speaking of the trial -- and refers to nature's punishment for a misdeed. Very much crime and punishment!<BR/><BR/>There was a trial of the pollygoggers in the very earliest version of the book. But, in rewriting it, I ignored the early version of the trial entirely -- creating something new, and very much better.<BR/><BR/>It may be that the trial has some reference to that of the Knave of Hearts in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". It may be noted, for example, that Tuerqui's father has determined the sentence before the jury has even been summoned -- an echo of the King of Hearts calling for sentence first, verdict afterwards. Tuerqui, attending the trial as an adult woman dressed as a child, may recall Alice growing much larger during the trial of the Knave of Hearts. (The big little girl.)<BR/><BR/>This may not be the only point at which "Odalisque" echoes "Wonderland". I didn't think about it whilst writing the book, but (looking at it now) it occurs to me that Lisa-Louise's early appearances (appearing and vanishing, enigmatic utterance, etc.) recall the Cheshire Cat.<BR/><BR/>I don't know what Carrollians would make of it, but I think that "Wonderland" (my favourite book as a child) has left a significant mark on "Odalisque".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com