Re: Seymour's Suicide -- Bruce...
Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@hotpop.com)
Mon, 11 Oct 1999 17:35:51 +1000
Jim wrote:
> I'm sure you already know, but a Joycean epiphany can very easily be a
quite
> profane thing and generally describes a sudden revelation of any kind.
> Gabriel at the end of "the Dead," Stephen with "the Irish Muse" -- these
were
> deep experiences completely centered in this world and devoid of what
would
> normally be called religious content.
>
> It's a good idea and useful for Salinger's fiction as well, but you were
> completely right calling me on the carpet for my use of the word without
some
> kind of explanation :)
I don't think you need to justify yourself Jim - just about the first thing
they tell you in any class on Joyce is the importance of the epiphany; it's
pretty much a given in Joyce scholarship and I barely even realised its a
term exclusive to it. I do think it's a valuable concept to look at in
relation to Salinger, too - I studied Dubliners last year with particular
focus on `the Dead' while I was reading `9 Stories' at the same time and
was struck by the similarities in them. What else could Holden's experience
at the end of `Catcher' be? As in Joyce, it tends to be the most mundane,
sometimes grotesque of things that trigger these moments of enlightenment.
Interestingly, it's very similar to the idea of satori - that enlightenment
cannot be logically searched for, only uncovered as it were.
Someone else mentioned a specific Joyce-Salinger parallel a while back -
can anyone remember what it was?
Camille
verona_beach@hotpop.com