West was buying bonnets when she
experienced her revelation-when
she got her key to Art-her Open
Sesame to the treasures in the caves
of Joyce.
As
for the phrase
she sass her
nach
..
She is an Englishwoman.
She is a Saxon. Or-to use the
Irish term-a
sassenach.
At this point, I began to wonder
whether Joyce was drawing any
conclusions from the name
Rebec–
ca West,
or from its component
parts,
West
and
Rebecca.
Now-a
rebecca
is a salmon
poacher.
In
Finnegans Wake,
the
salmon
is a wisdom-symbol. The
salmon
is such a symbol in the old Irish
legends. The word, furthermore, is
similar in sound
to
Solomon.
Thus
763
-Rebecca
is a poacher in the
domains of wisdom.
As for the word
West-Miss
West wangles,
(Wangels)
,
into the
middle of the altar. But-as a mat–
ter of
fact-West
is that part of
a church which is opposite to the
altar.
As
for
Rebecca West-
In Ibsen's
Rosmersholm,
Rebec–
ca West was a woman who at–
tempted to escape from her petty
bourgeois origins. She went as far
as murder.
She got away with
murder.
But-no matter what she did–
she remained a petty bourgeois.
This, I take it, is what Joyce
says about Rebecca West.
Nathan Halper
THE DEVIL IN THE FLESH
PUT US IN THE POKEY
We had what we thought was an amusing window display. We
painted the face of a devil on a papier-mache torso. But the cops
were not amused. They said we were obscene-and arrested us.
Walter Pach, Clement Greenberg, Meyer Schapiro, William Steig,
Bernard Pfriem, Chris Ritter, Elizabeth Saccartoff, Artist's
Equity and The American Civil Liberties Union testified for us.
But the magistrate was not impressed. The case is being held for
Special Sessions.
(Incidentally, it's a good book, written by Raymond Radiguet,
translated by Kay Boyle, with an intro. by Aldous Huxley. And
only $1.50)
During
July
&
August we will also be at
'195 Commercial Street
Provincetown, Mass.
4
seasons
21 Greenwich Ave.
CHelsea 2-0500
books
New York 14-
Open to 10: 30
