JOYCE AND THE RUSSIAN GENERAL
427
There is a picture in the pub. On p. 334, when the picture is
described, we see that it presents the Charge of the Light Brigade. This
occurred at Balaclava.
The owner, in his fifties, feels his powers are declining. Fearing
he will be supplanted, he dreams of this picture. He dreams
of
a
charge. Charge of the Light Brigade. Charge of the
Light
Brigade.
Of the Sun. Of the Son.
The Crimean War is the Archetypical War. But, on a second
levd, it is a particular war.
If
we have to name a fight in which an
Irish boy and a Russian general could have fought on opposing sides,
this is the most likely choice.
There were many Irishmen who fought in the British forces. One
of these, Cecil Buckley, covered himself with distinction, winning the
Victoria Cross.
If
the drinkers in the pub desired to talk about this
war, they thus had the topic of a young, triumphant Buckley.
Also--that of a stricken general. F. E. de Todleben, commander
of the Russian army, was wounded at Sevastopol in June, 1855. This
had a decisive bearing on the outcome of the siege, influencing the
decision of the Russians to withdraw.
These two themes were separate, but they were available, ready
to be combined in a customer's talk and therefore in a pub-owner's
dream.
The latter is a particular man. A man who owns a pub. That
this
is his occupation also fits with his being the Archetypical Man, the
Archetypical Father.
A pub is a public house: a house of the people. Whiskey
(uisce
beatha)
is "the water of life." In the House of the People, the host
is the Father. He dispenses the life-giving fluid.
Eau de vie. Aquavit.
The water of life.
He's the host. The multitude. He is- the general.
On p. 359, we are told that this tale is part of a serial running
in
Fearson's Nightly.
Fears Sons. Nightly.
In addition to this fear, the dreamer has a sense of guilt. Though
he is a Father now, he was once a Son. When he dreams of Buckley's
sin, he repeats his awn.
