Thursday, 14 May 2020 (590.12)

The last reading stopped at: “Praypaid my promishles!” (590.12)

Some favourite passages were:

1

2

3

For those interested in Joyce’s theatre company The English Players, “fancy, they were free!” (588.36) may carry overtones of a play they performed in Zurich in 1919.

 

 

Advertisement in the Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich (1919), 8 December

Fancy Free is a one-act comedy by Stanley Houghton, amusingly wicked, mildly provocative but light-hearted (publ. c. 1912):

Fancy, a married woman, has run away with her lover, Alfred. The opening of the play finds her writing to her husband, Ethelbert, from a hotel to tell him she has left him forever. To the couple’s great surprise, they run into the husband, who has himself run away with his lover Delia and is staying in the same hotel. None of the four seem too perturbed, however, and start to discuss their situation and one another’s shortcomings. Finally, Fancy pairs off with her husband again and Delia starts to attract Alfred's interest. The play closes with Delia’s words to Ethelbert “Do you know, you've got the most delightfully wicked eyes”.

 

To see more about The English Players’ performances in Zurich, find an essay here.

 

 

misflooded his fortunes (589.27)

the grand tryomphal arch (590.9)

fancy, they were free! (588.36)