Intermission

A Work in Progress 
23

They were in Venice.  Donal explained to Ezra that having Beckett appear on stage was the equivalent of going down to the Underworld…a reference to the Cantos and Ezra nodded in a thoughtful way and continued to enjoy his ice cream cone.

Glenn Hughes had paused his lectures to let the screenplay unfold that was being workshopped by the students.

He did interrupt for a few minutes to suggest a side plot for Ariadne and Lesbia:

“Last week we established that H.D. can be equated with Ariadne.  Can we also equate her with Lesbia?  And can we find a clue in the Catullus poem if we assume he’s still in love with Lesbia who has rejected him and married another.  Remember that Ariadne has just woken up to find herself alone on a deserted beach.  She’s yet to encounter Dionysius.  Theseus and his crew have sailed away.  She’s hopping mad and will incant a curse on Theseus which will soon be fulfilled.  Yet, Catullus writes:

If marriage, yours and mine, had not been to your mind

Because you dreaded the harsh rules of an old-world father,

You could have least have brought me to your family home

That I might serve you as a slave in joyful work,

Soothing the white soles of your feet in clear water

Or spreading your couch with a purple coverlet

Ariadne is the King’s daughter.  She would have passed muster as a bride for a son with an old-world father. Is it plausible she would want to be retained as a slave to wash her master’s feet?    Could this self-abasement be the poet himself, describing the strength of his feeling for Lesbia?  Is there some significance in the purple coverlet.”

Dick Russell (C) Richard M Russell

                    2025