Donald Barthelme

by Donald Barthelme

  431.6 self-slaughter] See Shakespeare, Hamlet, I.ii.129–32: “O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! / Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d / His canon ’gainst self-slaughter!”

  431.20 Messalina] Empress Messalina Valeria (d. 48 C.E.), wife of the Roman emperor Claudius (r. 41–54 C.E.), notorious for her promiscuity.

  442.21 “I must have the new . . . world.”] From Clymène (1671) by the French poet Jean de la Fontaine (1621–1695).

  445.24 Brann the Iconoclast] William Cowper Brann (1855–1898), owner and editor of The Iconoclast, published in Waco, Texas. He was shot to death by a reader angry over a published attack on Baylor University; Brann mortally wounded his attacker.

  AMATEURS

  448.1 Grace Paley] American short story writer (1922–2007), with whom Barthelme was briefly romantically involved.

  449.24 Alice Cooper] Stage name of Vincent Furnier (b. 1948), provocative rock performer known for his neogothic persona onstage.

  450.2 I saw the figure 5 writ in gold] Cf. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928), painting by American artist Charles Demuth (1883–1935), whose title and conception were inspired by lines from “The Great Figure” (1920), poem by the American poet William Carlos Williams.

  468.6 Gristede’s] New York City grocery-store chain.

  472.19 Busoni] The Italian composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924).

  473.9–10 Grace Under Pressure] Definition of “guts” made by Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) in a profile by Dorothy Parker in The New Yorker, November 30, 1929.

  477.10 Orson Welles picture] Citizen Kane (1941).

  478.14–15 the late Huey P. Long] American lawyer and populist Democratic politician (1893–1935) known as “The Kingfish,” who was governor of Louisiana, 1928–32, and U.S. senator from 1932 to 1935, when he was assassinated.

  482.5–6 HACHARD & CIE?] French art-poster company.

  483.25 stone soup] Reference to a folktale in which a traveler arrives in a village and boils a cauldron of water with a stone in it, then convinces the residents to help him make soup by contributing ingredients they had been hoarding.

  485.29 TDY] Temporary duty.

  485.34 I.G.] Inspector general. “Bird colonel” is full colonel, not a lieutenant colonel.

  489.13 R.A.] Regular army.

  490.12 Andromache!] In The Iliad, the wife of Hector, who was taken captive when Troy fell.

  494.1 Bengal Lancers] Regiments in the British Indian Army during British colonial rule of India.

  494.4 “Love of Life,] Soap opera on CBS television, 1951–80.

  494.9 Landseer] See note 241.33.

  498.38 A. E. Housman] English poet (1859–1936), author of A Shropshire Lad (1896).

  506.11 désabusé] French: disillusioned.

  507.27–28 Hyde Park . . . President,”] Springwood, the estate of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), is in Hyde Park, New York.

  512.2–3 “AND NOW . . . heart,”] From “Stardust,” song (1927) by Hoagy Carmichael (1899–1981), first recorded as an instrumental; Mitchell Parish (1900–1993) added lyrics in 1929.

  512.20 “De bustibus . . . disputandum,”] Cf. “De gustibus non est disputandum,” Latin maxim meaning “There’s no disputing matters of taste.”

  514.9 Merle Travis] Country singer, guitarist, and songwriter (1917–1983).

  514.21 Sonny and Cher show] The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, CBS television variety show, 1971–74, 1976–77 (when it was called The Sonny and Cher Show), hosted by the singers and actors Sonny Bono (1935–1998) and Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian, b. 1946).

  517.4 Fisher King] Figure in Arthurian legend, discussed in From Ritual to Romance (1920), study by the British medievalist Jessie L. Weston (1850–1928), and appearing in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, as does the Arthurian locale the Chapel Perilous mentioned later in this story.

  518.6–7 steady-state cosmologists, Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle] The three mathematicians and cosmologists who in 1948, working at Cambridge University, proposed the steady-state model to explain the universe: the Vienna-born mathematician Hermann Bondi (1919–2005), the Vienna-born astrophysicist Thomas Gold (1920–2004), and English mathematician and astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915–2001).

  518.9 Merzbau] Sculptural installation (c. 1923–37) by the German artist Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948), constructed in the artist’s studio in Hanover. The installation was a kind of three-dimensional collage, with stalactite-like columns and cavelike recesses in which Schwitters placed small objects he had come upon or that put him in mind of friends.

  518.9–10 Van de Graaff machine] Van de Graaf generator, an electrostatic generator invented in 1929 by Robert J. Van de Graaf (1901–1967).

  518.23 Sergeant Preston of the Yukon] Eponymous hero of a television series broadcast on CBS, 1955–58, a Western starring Richard Simmons (1913–2003).

  518.23–24 Sam Browne belt] A belt invented by the British general Samuel Browne (1824–1901) and worn by U.S. Army officers; it has a supporting strap over the right shoulder.

  530.29 the true gen.] Phrase used by Ernest Hemingway in a 1945 letter to Malcolm Cowley: “The gen is RAF slang for intelligence, the hand out at the briefing. The true gen is what they know but don’t tell you. The true gen very hard to obtain.”

  530.31 galgenspiel] German: hangman (the game).

  540.14–15 Saint-Exupéry . . . Night flight?] Antoine de Saint Exupéry (1900–1944), French author and pilot, wrote several books on aviation, including Vol de nuit (Night Flight, 1931) and Terre des hommes (translated as Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939).

  540.32–33 From Ritual to Romance, by Jessie L. Weston] See note 517.4.

  541.22 BOAC] British Overseas Airways Corporation, a precursor to British Airways.

  542.19 Hopper] The American painter Edward Hopper (1882–1967).

  550.31–32 A. F. of L.] American Federation of Labor.

  GREAT DAYS

  552.1 Thomas B. Hess] American art curator (1920–1978) and longtime editor of the magazine ARTnews.

  554.14 Broadcasting House] London headquarters of the BBC.

  555.15–16 the sexy part of Tristan und Isolde.] “Liebesnacht,” the love duet in act 2 of Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).

  557.3–4 Leskov’s] The Russian journalist, novelist, and short story writer Nikolai Leskov (1831–1895).

  563.16 Athene’s statue] The Palladium, a wooden statue in ancient Troy that was supposed to ensure that the city could not be conquered. According to legend it was stolen by Diomedes and Odysseus during the Trojan War.

  565.30 Great Lyceum.] School just beyond the city boundary of Athens established by Aristotle.

  567.36 Eckermann’s Conversations with Goethe.] Collection of Goethe’s remarks (1832–33) gathered by his literary assistant Johann Peter Eckermann (1792–1854) and an account of their relationship. The quote, made by Goethe on April 2, 1825, is taken from Eckermann’s book.

  568.10 the G.I. Bill.] Officially called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (1944), federal legislation that guaranteed veterans access to higher education and provided tuition funding.

  568.22 Momma didn’t ’low] Reference to the American folk song “Momma Don’t Allow.”

  569.15 Eleusinian mysteries] Ancient Greek religious rites performed in honor of Demeter, the Greek goddess of corn, who allowed nature to be reborn in the spring, when her daughter Persephone returned from the underworld.

  571.37–38 whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth] From Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

  572.1–2 Un Coup de Dés
] See note 37.25.

  573.37–38 Hite Report.] The Hite Report on Female Sexuality (1976) by the American-born German sex researcher Shere Hite (1942–2020).

  576.26 Doña Marina] La Malinche, an enslaved Nahua woman who was given to Hernando Cortés in 1519 and who served as Cortés’s interpreter and adviser during the conquest of Mexico; she was the mother of a son by Cortés.

  576.30 Father Sanchez?] Miguel Sánchez (1594–1674), a Mexican priest who was the author of the first published account (1648) of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a representation of a dark-skinned Virgin Mary who appeared to one of the first Christian converts in North America, Juan Diego, on December 9, 1531.

  578.10–11 Cuitlahuac] Cuitláhuac (c. 1476–1520), Aztec leader who resisted the Spanish conquest, most notably during the expulsion of Cortés’s forces from Tenochtitlán in 1520; he died shortly afterward during a smallpox outbreak.

  578.27–28 Juan de Escalante] Spanish military officer (d. 1519) accompanying Cortés.

  581.22 schnell] German: fast.

  582.17–18 Chalchihuitlicue] Water goddess of the Aztecs.

  582.28 “I am the State!”] Remark by the French king Louis XIV (1643–1715, r. 1643–1715): “L’état, c’est moi!”

  582.37–39 Pitalpitoque . . . Tendile.”] Pitalpitoque and Tendile were Aztec governors who met with Cortés; Quintalbor was a chief said to resemble Cortés in appearance.

  596.15 I.T.U.] International Typographical Union, a now defunct labor union.

  598.5 APC] Armored personnel carrier.

  598.26 Swedish poet Bodil Malmsten] Also a novelist and memoirist (1944–2016), whose books include The Price of Water in Finistère (2001).

  600.14–15 Kulicke frames] Modern frames designed by the American frame designer, artist, and businessman Robert M. Kulicke (1924–2007).

  601.1 The Abduction from the Seraglio] Title of Mozart’s 1782 opera.

  601.2 Butler building] Prefabricated metal building designed and produced by Butler Manufacturing.

  601.18 Waylon Jennings] Country music singer, guitarist, and songwriter (1937−2002).

  601.27 Darvon] Opioid painkiller containing propoxyphene, formerly a prescription medication but now banned in the United States.

  602.33 Sea & Ski] Brand of suntan lotion.

  605.1 Edward Lear] English poet and artist (1812–1888), the author of nonsense poems collected in A Book of Nonsense (1846).

  605.18–19 the words of Lear’s great friend, Tennyson] From the verse play Becket (1884) and “The Brook” (1855), respectively, by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892).

  609.16 Emmanuelle Around the World] Emanuelle: Perché violenza alle donne? (1977), softcore pornographic Italian film starring Laura Gemser (b. 1950).

  609.20–21 Remember 17 June?] Marshal Philippe Pétain (1856–1951), addressing the nation as France’s newly appointed premier on June 17, 1940, called for a stop to fighting against the German invasion; he would lead the government, headquartered in Vichy, that collaborated with the Germans throughout the war. In 1945 he was tried and convicted of treason.

  614.37 patassas] A type of freshwater fish found in Louisiana.

  617.13 Mowgli] See note 173.35–36.

  617.15 Scriabin] Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915).

  617.21 Cuisine Minceur] French: Lean Cuisine.

  619.4 Eternal Return?] Throughout his writings Friedrich Nietzsche explored the idea of eternal recurrence, in which everything perpetually repeats itself.

  619.7 “One O’Clock Jump,”] Jazz composition (1937) by Count Basie (1904–1984), a standard; it inspired “Two O’Clock Jump” (1939), composition by the trumpeter and bandleader Harry James (1916–1983).

  619.23 Bomba the Jungle Boy] Protagonist of a series of boys’ adventure books written by different authors under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood, 1926–38, and of several films, 1949–55.

  622.19–20 loaf or a fish? . . . Christian imagery] Referring to one of the miracles of Jesus, in which five loaves and two fish were multiplied to feed thousands.

  625.9 Coushatta Indian] Indigenous nation also called Koasati (the name of their language) whose members live mostly in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma.

  630.22 “I think that I shall never see”] From “Trees” (1913), poem by the American poet Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918).

  630.37–631.1 Bessie Smith . . . Franklin.] The blues singer Bessie Smith (1894–1937); Alice Babs, stage name of Alice Nilson (1924–2014), Swedish singer and actor who performed songs in jazz and other genres; the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading (b. 1950); R&B superstar Aretha Franklin (1942–2018).

  631.5 Sweet Emma Barrett] Jazz pianist and singer (1897–1963) from New Orleans.

  631.7 Das Lied von der Erde] Symphonic piece with vocal parts (The Song of the Earth, 1909) by Gustav Mahler (1860–1911).

  631.18 Z.P.G.] Zero population growth.

  632.12 Cardinal Spellman] Francis Spellman (1889–1967), Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, 1939–67.

  632.20 William of Ockham.] English philosopher and theologian (1285–1349).

  632.20–21 Vienna Circle] A group of philosophers whose ideas were associated with logical positivism. It flourished in the interwar years and included among its members its cofounder Moritz Schlick (1882–1936), Otto Neurath (1882–1945), and Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970).

  632.21 The Frankfurt School] Marxist-oriented circle of social and cultural theorists including the German-Jewish thinkers Theodor Adorno (1903–1969), Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), and Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979).

  632.21 Manichaeus.] Persian philosopher (also Mani or Manes, 215–276), who taught that the universe is divided between the forces of good and evil.

  632.21 Peirce.] The American pragmatist philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914).

  632.21–22 Occasionalism.] The philosophical belief that restricts causation to the actions of God, a view associated with but not limited to the French philosopher Nicholas Malebranche (1638–1715).

  632.26 Self-slaughter.] See note 431.6.

  633.29 Purity of heart is to will one thing.] From the title of Kierkegaard’s “On the Occasion of a Confession: Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing” (1847).

  634.11 Walkin’ my baby back home] Title of song (1930), lyrics by Roy Turk (1892–1934), music by Fred Ahlert (1892–1953).

  636.5 “How High the Moon.”] Jazz song (1940), music by Morgan Lewis (1906–1968), lyrics by Nancy Hamilton (1908−1985).

  639.18 Oni of Ife.] Ooni of Ife, title for the traditional ruler of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife-Ife.

  639.21 “Vulcan and Maia.”] Painting (c. 1585) by the Flemish artist Bartholomäus Spranger (1546–1611).

  641.23 “Tancred Succored by Ermina.”] Painting (1660) by the Lucchese artist Pietro Ricchi (1606–1675).

  642.39 “Portia Wounding Her Thigh.”] Painting (1664) by the Bolognese artist Elisabetta Sirani (1638–1665).

  643.1–2 “Wolfram . . . Corpse of Her Lover.”] Painting (1812–20) by Swiss-born English painter Henry Fuseli (1741–1820).

  644.6 Delacroix] French artist Eugène Delacroix (1798−1863)

  FROM SIXTY STORIES

  651.31 John Graham!] American modernist artist (1881−1961).

  658.13–14 esse est percipi] Latin: to be is to be perceived, the idea at the core of the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley’s (1685–1753) subjective idealism.

  659.2 pain] French: bread.

  659.15 Gorgias] Rhetorician (c. 485–c. 380 B.C.E.) who came to Athens from the Sicilian town of Leontini, the author of the lost work On That Which Is Not, or Natur
e.

  659.19 Athos, Porthos, or Aramis] The individual Three Musketeers in the novel (1844) of that name by the French writer Alexandre Dumas père (1802–1870).

  660.4–5 Heidegger suggests that “Nothing nothings”] Cf. “Das Nichts selbst nichtet” (Nothing nihilates of its own) in “What Is Metaphysics?” (1929), lecture by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976).

  660.28–29 Charlie Is My Darling] A traditional Scottish song.

  660.35 “Do not go gentle into that good night”] Title and recurring line of the villanelle “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (1947) by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953).

  660.37 says Beckett’s Krapp] In Krapp’s Last Tape (1958), play by the Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett (1906–1989).

  660.38–661.1 rape of Lucrece . . . Tarquin? . . . Shakespeare] As recounted by the Roman historian Livy, the Roman noblewoman Lucretia was raped by the son of the Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud), the legendary seventh and final king of Rome. After her rape Lucretia committed suicide; reaction to her death precipitated the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. The episode is the basis for Shakespeare’s narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece.

  660.39–661.2 raglan sleeves . . . Lord Raglan] The raglan sleeve, which extends to the collar in one piece, was designed for FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855), British military officer who had lost an arm due to injuries sustained at the Battle of Waterloo.

  663.32–33 cloud of unknowing] Title of an anonymous treatise of Christian mysticism written in the later fourteenth century.

  666.16 augenscheinlich] German: apparent.

  670.2 Flee from the wrath to come] Cf. Luke 3:7.

  675.5 Knights of the Invisible Empire.] The Ku Klux Klan.

  675.33 “Publish and be damned!”] See the remark of the British scientist and author Jacob Bronowski (1908–1974), “If a man is a scientist, like me, he’ll always say ‘Publish and be damned.’”

  676.17 hors concours] French: out of the competition.