Chapter 15 – Whoredom
A chapter that has much quenchment of male tumescence by artful fingering and uncouth matters and a semi-melodramatic role-playing cabaret – all artfully balanced later by dream visions and spiritual matters. The Goddess is both religious and slightly mischievous. Perhaps that accounts for one of her subjects – our heroine Tuerqui – spending much time on the uncouth and detailed sexualities etc when she could be narrating other matters in her rite of passage.
Some choice telling snippets in reflection of what I have just said:
Worst of all, I think, was his blesh and onion pie coated tongue thrusting against mine. It was the first time that I’d knowingly had slave flesh in my mouth
One customer during the course of my first evening was a woman. For a minute or two, I was delighted to have a member of my own sex to pleasure. Alas, she made no attempt to respond to my fingerings and left me feeling depressed. It was almost a relief to return to the men – at least I didn’t care for them in any way.
“Oh, but I am taking my forfeit in pleasure,” said she with the cane. “Pain is a great pleasure – and you must be at pains to please me.” Nobody laughed at this pun.
(Pun?)
“This,” Madame Scurf said, “is Our Lady of the Lamp, goddess of harlots. You can pray here. There’s some as mock religion, but I’ll not have that ’ere. The goddess keeps me going, bless her5 – and she’ll ’elp you too, if you’ll let her.”
5 It is interesting that the h of her is not dropped when the word refers to the goddess. It is not clear whether Madame Scurf was more careful with her diction when she spoke of the goddess – or whether Tuerqui made the correction through respect toward Our Lady of the Lamp.
There was still an ache upon me where Tuerquelle had once been – but that slight pain was something necessary to my being. Had I not felt certain that the Great Mother had extended her hand to my daughter, the agony of separation would have grown beyond bearing. A measure of peace had been granted to me, no matter how irreligious a slave I had been. Now there seemed an urgency in reaching the goddess of my new station.
Towards the end of this prayer, I found myself in such a place as the dream world. The goddess and I were standing in a niche set high into the outer wall of a square tower. Below us was spread a strange city set about with green open spaces, and free from the filth of towns we know. The air was filled with the song of a blackbird, sweet yet melancholy.
..................
Typo:
As Marie stooped retrieve it,
This will be the last time I mention this type of query:
Then all six of we new whores followed her upstairs
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Posted by: newdfl on 7/30/2008 2:41:09 PM , 5 comments
Submitted by Pet at 7/31/2008 5:45:38 AM
Typo corrected -- thanks!
As ever, it gives me especial plaesure to see passages quoted that were entirely new in the final revision of the book. It helps assure me that the final revision was worthwhile.
You query the word "pun". Don't you think that it is one? It seems to me that "pains" in the sense of "to be at pains to do something" (i.e. be careful to do it) is a different meaning from "pains" in the sense of physical pain. True, the pun rests on the slightly different "pain" and "pains", but the plural of the former is the latter.
You're not going query use of the word "we" in future? Odd usage of the word must be enemdic to the novel! Actually, I think that in the example you quote, "we" is correct. "We new whores" is the subject of "followed", "her" is the object. No?
Submitted by Pet at 7/31/2008 5:52:43 AM
Oh -- and one of your quotes highlights the inconsistencies of Madame Scurf's coarse accent (a subject raised in comments on Chapter 14). Looking at that passage now, I notice that not only is the "h" of "her" retained, but also that of "harlots". (The latter possibly because it forms part of "goddess of harlots" -- perhaps a formal title of Our Lady of the Lamp.
Submitted by des at 7/31/2008 7:21:29 AM
six of us
Submitted by Pet at 7/31/2008 7:42:35 AM
"Six of us followed her upstairs" would definitely be correct -- and "Six of we followed her upstairs" would be definitely be wrong. The insertion of "new whores" after "we" seems to obscure the grammar somewhat (I'm not sure why). And I'm not sure why "us" is correct here. "We followed her upstairs" would certainly be right.
Submitted by des at 7/31/2008 8:55:33 AM
Interesting debate.
