Finnegans Wake Notes

Briefing Document: "Finnegans Wake" Chapter 5 pages 104 - 106 - Annah's Manifold Manifestations

Core Theme: The central theme of this excerpt is the multiplicity and fluid identity of a feminine archetype, "Annah," whose "mamafesta" (manifesto/memoir) is presented through an extensive and seemingly chaotic list of alternative titles. This list serves to demonstrate the multifaceted nature of her influence, experiences, and perception within the narrative.

Key Ideas & Facts:

• Annah the Allmaziful, Everliving, Bringer of Plurabilities: The opening establishes Annah as a powerful, benevolent, and generative force, associated with abundance and diversity. Her being is described as "unhemmed as it is uneven," suggesting a wild, untamed, and unconventional nature.
• Quote: "In the name of Annah the Allmaziful, the Everliving, the Bringer of Plurabilities, haloed be her eve, her singtime sung, her rill be run, unhemmed as it is uneven!"
• The "Mamafesta" and its Myriad Names: The core of the excerpt is a sprawling list of over 100 "names" or "titles" for Annah's "mamafesta memorialising the Mosthighest." This is not a simple list of synonyms but a highly condensed, fragmented, and often nonsensical compilation of phrases, proverbs, misremembered historical events, song titles, character names, and puns.
• Quote: "Her untitled mamafesta memorialising the Mosthighest has gone by many names at disjointed times."
• Fragmentation and Polysemy: The sheer volume and disparate nature of the titles highlight a key characteristic of Finnegans Wake: fragmentation of meaning and extreme polysemy. Each title, however brief, offers a potential glimpse into a different facet of Annah's character or a specific event, but these glimpses are often contradictory or obscure. For example:
  • "Rockabill Booby in the Wave Trough" suggests a vulnerable or foolish aspect.
  • "Anna Stessa's Rise to Notice" points to a moment of recognition or prominence.
  • "Cleopater's Nedlework Ficturing Aldborougham on the Sahara" is an absurd juxtaposition, hinting at a blend of history, myth, and personal narrative.
  • "A New Cure for an Old Clap" introduces a vulgar, earthly, and perhaps ironic element.
  • "He Gave me a Thou so I serve Him with Thee" implies a transactional or subservient role.
  • "I Ask You to Believe I was his Mistress" suggests a hidden, scandalous, or intimate history.
  • "His is the House that Malt Made" could be a reference to a pub, a family legacy, or even a metaphorical foundation built on consumption.
• Linguistic Play and Puns: The excerpt is rife with Joyce's characteristic linguistic inventiveness, employing puns, portmanteau words, and phonetic distortions. This makes a literal interpretation impossible and encourages a multi-layered, auditory, and associative reading. Examples include:
  • "Plurabilities" (plurality + possibilities)
  • "Mosthighest" (highest + most)
  • "mamafesta" (mama + manifesto + festa/feast)
  • "Hoebegunne the Hebrewer Hit Waterman the Brayned" (a phonetic play on "How Began the Brewer Hit the Water man the Brainy")
  • "Lumptytumtumpty had a Big Fall" (Humpty Dumpty)
  • "My Skin Appeals to Three Senses and My Curly Lips Demand Columbkisses" (sensual and playful description)
• Historical and Cultural Allusions (Obscured): While specific allusions are difficult to pinpoint without extensive scholarship, the names hint at a vast array of historical figures, mythological references, literary works, and common phrases. This reflects Joyce's ambition to encapsulate all human experience within the Wake. The blend of high culture ("Oremunds Queue Visits Amen Mart") and low culture ("Cock in the Pot for Father") is characteristic.
• The Elusive Nature of Truth and Identity: The endless list of names, often contradictory or absurd, suggests that Annah's true identity, and indeed any "truth," is not singular or fixed but rather a constantly shifting, fluid construct. It challenges the reader to embrace ambiguity and the impossibility of a definitive interpretation.
• The "Woman of the World" as Narrator/Source: The concluding lines introduce a potential "narrator" or "source" for some of this information: "by a Woman of the World who only can Tell Naked Truths about a Dear Man and all his Conspirators how they all Tried to Fall him Putting it all around Lucalizod about Privates Earwicker and a Pair of Sloppy Sluts plainly Showing all the Unmentionability falsely Accusing about the Raincoats." This suggests scandal, gossip, and the subjective nature of "truth," particularly concerning the male figure of "Earwicker" and associated female figures. This ending points to a narrative of accusation, conspiracy, and the revelation of "unmentionable" details, framing the preceding list of names as potentially stemming from or contributing to such a complex, scandalous history.

In Summary: This excerpt is a prime example of Joyce's experimental prose, where meaning is generated through a dizzying accumulation of linguistic fragments rather than linear narrative. It portrays Annah as a protean figure, her identity and story refracted through countless, often contradictory, "titles." The "mamafesta" becomes a metaphor for the vast, untidy, and endlessly interpretable nature of human experience and memory.

 Detailed Briefing Document: Finnegans Wake Chapter 5 pages 107-109 - The Mamafesta of ALP

This briefing reviews the main themes and important ideas within excerpts from "FW Chapter 5 P 107 to 109 Notes - Sheet1.pdf" and "Fweet 107-109.pdf", complemented by insights from "Summary CHAPTER V The Manifesto of ALP [Chapters i to 4 belonged to the father.pdf". The focus is on the nature of the "Mamafesta" letter, its authorship, interpretation, and the broader implications for understanding Finnegans Wake itself.

1. The Proteiform and Polyhedral Nature of the "Mamafesta" Letter

The central object of analysis in these excerpts is a mysterious document, referred to as the "Mamafesta," the "letter," or the "proteiform graph." This document is presented as being extraordinarily complex and multi-faceted, mirroring the very structure of Finnegans Wake itself.

• Fluid and Ever-Changing Form: The letter is described as "The proteiform graph itself is a polyhedron of scripture." The term "proteiform" (varying in form, like Proteus) highlights its ever-changing nature. It is not a fixed text but something that shifts and adapts. This concept is further underscored by the note that "The proteiform graph' is both the letter and Finnegans Wake (itself)."
• Multifaceted and Layered Meaning: The description "polyhedron of scripture" implies that the letter has "many sides, many faces," much like a three-dimensional geometric shape. This suggests that its meaning is not singular but can be approached from numerous angles, revealing different truths or interpretations depending on the perspective.
• Symbolic of Sacred and Written Knowledge: "Scripture" denotes both general writing and sacred texts, implying that the letter holds a profound, perhaps even divine, significance. This elevates the seemingly mundane "document" to something akin to a sacred text, demanding meticulous study and deep contemplation.
• Challenge to Naive Interpretation: The text asserts, "There was a time when naif alphabetters would have written it down the tracing of a purely deliquescent recidivist." This suggests that a simplistic, surface-level reading, typical of "naif" (naive) interpreters, would only grasp a decaying or criminal aspect, missing the deeper complexities.

2. Authorship and the Multiplicity of Personalities

The question of who wrote the "durn thing" is a recurring and unresolved theme, leading to a discussion of multiple, coalescing identities.

• Ambiguous and Collective Authorship: The identity of the author is deliberately obscured. Phrases like "ambidextrous, snubnosed probably and presenting a strangely profound rainbowl in his (or her) occiput" suggest a fluid, perhaps even gender-ambiguous, individual. The "Summary" notes that the Mamafesta "memorializing the Mosthighest has gone by many names at disjointed times," implying a collective, historical authorship.
• Dissociative Identities and Coalescence: "Closer inspection of the bordereau would reveal a multiplicity of personalities inflicted on the documents or document." This points to a "Dissociative Identity Disorder" within the text itself, where "two or more distinct identities or personalities" coexist. However, these contrarieties are "eliminated, in one stable somebody," through a "coincidence of opposites" (Nicholas of Cusa's concept). This suggests that despite the apparent multiplicity, there is an underlying unity, perhaps within the dreamer's mind.
• Generational and Familial Influence: The idea of "generations, more generations and still more generations" contributing to the document, perhaps through a "morganatic marriage" that denies certain familial rights, implies a continuous, evolving authorship across a bloodline. This makes the Mamafesta a living, accumulated record rather than a singular creation.
• ALP as the Primary Author (Mamafesta): The "Summary" explicitly states: "The present chapter, 5, is devoted to a study of the letter that she wrote, her “Mamafesta” memorializing the old man." ALP is presented as the primary author, described as the "Mother of the World, uniting in one personality the traits of the Hindu figure Maya ('Bringer of Plurabilities'), the Catholic figure of the Virgin (Bearer of the Word made Flesh), the mother-heroine ALP, the gently flowing waters of the River Lififey, and the wonderful little hen, Belinda."

3. The Quest for Meaning and the Importance of Patience

The text frames the engagement with the letter as a difficult but essential quest, demanding "patience" and a rejection of hasty conclusions.

• An Eternal Quest: The phrase "eternal chimerahunter Oriolopos" depicts the interpreter (reader/dreamer) as eternally "hunt[ing] down meaning in an eternal quest," much like Bellerophon pursuing the Chimera. The Ouroboros symbol, representing cyclicality, further emphasizes the ongoing nature of this pursuit.
• Patience as a Virtue: The direct address, "Now, patience; and remember patience is the great thing, and above all things else we must avoid anything like being or becoming out of patience," highlights the crucial role of sustained effort. This is linked to historical understanding, suggesting that "history takes a long time to play out. You can't understand it by just looking at the 'snapshot' of the moment. You need to wait a long time before making any judgements."
• Avoiding Rash Conclusions: The text warns against "Naysayers" and "conclud[ing] purely negatively from the positive absence" of certain features. This is illustrated by the analogy of "inferring from the nonpresence of inverted commas... that its author was always constitutionally incapable of misappropriating the spoken words of others." This directly references Joyce's own writing style and a perceived criticism regarding T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land.
• Learning from History and Mythology: References to Robert the Bruce's perseverance (watching a "Scotch spider") and "Elberfeld's Calculating Horses" (Clever Hans) serve as reminders that complex problems require sustained observation and a rejection of superficial solutions or deceptive appearances.

4. The "Enveloping Facts" and Deeper Interpretation

A key methodological point is made regarding the importance of context and surface-level analysis, not just literal content.

• Beyond Literal and Psychological Content: The text criticizes those who "concentrate solely on the literal sense or even the psychological content of any document to the sore neglect of the enveloping facts themselves circumstantiating it." This implies that the surrounding details, the "envelope," are as crucial as the letter's explicit message.
• The Analogy of Clothing: The extended metaphor of a woman's clothing is used to illustrate this point: "just as hurtful to sound sense... as were some fellow... vision her plump and plain in her natural altogether, preferring to close his blinkhard's eyes to the ethiquethical fact that she was, after all, wearing for the space of the time being some definite articles of evolutionary clothing."
• "Evolutionary clothing": This suggests that the outer layers (context, style, form) are not static but evolve, reflecting historical and cultural changes.
• "Local colour and personal perfume": These details, like the "enveloping facts," add richness and individuality, making the interpretation more profound than a mere "naked" understanding.
• Separation and Simultaneous Contemplation: The concluding questions – "Or that one may be separated from the other? Or that both may then be contemplated simultaneously? Or that each may be taken up and considered in turn apart from the other?" – encourage a flexible approach to interpretation, allowing for both holistic and segmented analysis.
• Importance of the Envelope in Graphology: "Fweet" notes that Crépieux-Jamin's Les Éléments de l'Écriture des Canailles "stresses the importance of examining the inscription of the address on the envelope as part of a graphological analysis of a love letter," underscoring that even the "outer husk" holds significant information.

5. Intertextuality and Linguistic Play

The excerpts are rich with allusions, puns, and linguistic transformations, characteristic of Finnegans Wake.

• Multilingualism: Frequent inclusion of Armenian (kidout'iun - science/knowledge, madenakrout'iun - literature/bibliography, lour - news, herou - far/distant, kisher - night, hazar - thousand, zereg - day, pou - owl, gouyr - blind, aysôr - today, amousin - husband, baron - Mr, lousadour - light-giver, khaghal - to play, kini - wine, kinedoun - tavern, k'ahana - priest, charder - clever/able, misen - meat, manoug - child, darnal - to return, barbar - language/dialect/speech, karejour - beer, glor - round, sokh - onion, abaodan - refuge/sanctuary, k'aghak' - city/town), Latin (proteiform, scriptus, persequi, semper, sol, odia, ludi, -imus), French (naïf, hasard, parce que), Italian (chiaroscuro, notte, chiaro, oscuro, giardiniere, mise mano, cagare), Dutch (kant, kwestie), Irish (fionn, méar, meas, rere), and German (Hagel, Kohle, Ours) words enriches the text and creates multiple layers of meaning.
• Puns and Wordplay: Numerous examples of wordplay, such as "rainbowl" (rainbow + bowl), "entomophilust" (entomophilous + lust), "bewilderblissed" (bewildered + blissed + blunderbuss + wildebeest), "tubthumper" (parson + vigorous speaker), "barbar" (language + barbarian), "radiooscillating epiepistle" (radio + oscillating + epistle + stuttering), and "glorisol" (glorious sun + round + onion), demonstrate Joyce's maximalist approach to language.
• Cultural Allusions: References to Greek mythology (Proteus, Chimera, Orion, Ouroboros, Nymphs), biblical stories (Noah's rainbow, Tower of Babel, Tophet), historical figures (Confucius, Robert the Bruce), literary works (Lord Byron's The Giaour, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, Swift's Stella and Vanessa, Wyndham Lewis's critique of Ulysses), and nursery rhymes (Humpty Dumpty, "My face is my fortune") create a dense web of intertextual connections.

In conclusion, Chapter 5 of Finnegans Wake positions the "Mamafesta" letter not as a simple document but as a microcosm of the work itself: a proteiform, polyhedral text with ambiguous, multi-generational authorship. The process of understanding it is presented as a challenging yet rewarding quest that demands immense patience, a rejection of superficial interpretations, and a keen attention to both the explicit content and the "enveloping facts" of its context and form. The chapter serves as a meta-commentary on the nature of reading and interpretation within Joyce's complex narrative.