810.39 The Possessed] Novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in Russian in 1871–72; translated into English in 1916.
811.7–8 Peace Conference . . . Molotov.] Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Soviet foreign minister, 1939–49 and 1953–56, represented the U.S.S.R. at the 1946 Paris Peace Conference, during which treaties ending World War II were negotiated between the Allies and Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland.
811.19 Parigi, Pace] Italian: Paris, Peace.
812.1 Puvis de Chavannes] French painter and muralist (1824–1898).
812.20–21 très mignon . . . gentil . . . joli garçon] French: very cute; nice; pretty boy.
815.3 the famous Galleria] Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milanese shopping mall open since 1877.
817.7 the Liberators] American B-24 Liberator bombers attacked targets in Milan several times from March to October 1944. The damage to the Sforza castle, however, was done by British night raids in August 1943.
817.14 Filippo Lippi Madonna] Likely Madonna of Humility (1430) by the Italian painter Fra Filippo Lippi (c. 1406–1469).
817.30 Baedeker] Popular travel guides published in Germany by Karl Baedeker beginning in 1827.
819.16–17 Saltimbocca] Italian dish made of veal and prosciutto as well as sage or basil. Literally, Italian for “jumps in the mouth.”
819.23 “The Prisoner of Chillon”] Narrative poem written by Byron in 1816 about the imprisonment of a monk, François Bonivard.
820.15 Narcissa] Female form of Narcissus, the beautiful young figure of Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection.
821.19 campos and the trattorias] Italian: playing fields and casual restaurants.
822.4 mercerias] Notions sold in a haberdashery.
822.29 cotolette] Breaded veal cutlets.
823.1 Franklin Simon] New York City department store that operated from 1902 to 1979.
823.34 vin du pays] French: local wine.
824.32 letto matrimoniale] Italian: double bed.
824.36 orange sticks] Small toiletry tool for cleaning nails and pushing cuticles back.
825.7 Caro] Italian: dear.
825.12–13 Piazza San Marco, to Harry’s Bar] Piazza San Marco, Venice’s main square and the location of St. Mark’s church. Harry’s Bar is a popular tourist bar and restaurant located on the Calle Vallaresso since 1931.
825.18 oubliette] Literally a “forgotten chamber”; a hidden dungeon that can be entered only from a hatchway in its ceiling.
826.26–27 the Palladian front of San Giorgio] The Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) designed the Venetian church of San Giorgio Maggiore, built between 1566 and 1610.
828.23 Inglesi’s] Italian: English people’s.
829.24–25 a Fuller Brush man] From 1906 until 1985, products of the Fuller Brush Company were sold entirely by door-to-door salespeople.
836.29 non-Detecto scales] Throughout the twentieth century the Detecto Scale Company, founded in New York in 1900, dominated the manufacture and sale of scales for butchers, bakers, doctors, and private homes.
840.24 Augustus John] Post-Impressionist Welsh painter (1878–1961) best known for his portraits and his flamboyant romantic life.
840.26 a point du départ] French: point of departure.
843.27 invidia] Italian: jealousy or envy.
843.27–29 “Cast a cold eye . . . pass by”] Epitaph of W. B. Yeats; the last three lines of his poem “Under Ben Bulben” (1939).
845.8–9 en brosse] Short crew or buzz cut that leaves the individual hairs standing up as bristles.
UNCOLLECTED STORIES
851.1–2 the guns at Camp Edwards] U.S. military training base, established in 1931 on Cape Cod. During World War II it served as a training ground for anti-aircraft troops.
852.10 “Die Lorelei.”] Popular song (1837) by German composer Friedrich Silcher (1789–1860), which set to music Heinrich Heine’s (1797–1856) well-known 1824 poem.
852.12–13 “My mother sells snow to the snowbirds”] Lyric from bawdy song “How the Money Rolls In,” a version of which is included in Carl Sandburg’s American Songbag (1927). Sung to the tune of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.”
852.21–27 Die schönste . . . Kamme] Heinrich Heine, Die Lorelei (1822). Translation from Poems of Heinrich Heine: Three Hundred and Twenty-Five Poems, trans. Louis Untermeyer (1917):
And on one peak, half-dreaming
She sits, enthroned and fair;
Like a goddess, dazzling and gleaming,
She combs her golden hair.
With a gold comb she is combing . . .
865.11 Maecenas] From Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (68–8 B.C.E.), a political advisor to the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, who was renowned for his patronage of the arts.
865.39 “ Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”] Latin: Who watches the watchers? From Juvenal’s Satire 6.
867.21 Noxzema] Skin cream originally developed for sunburn and eczema (the cream was originally called “no-eczema”) invented by Francis J. Townsend in the late nineteenth century and first sold commercially in 1914.
867.38 Stekel] Wilhelm Stekel (1868–1940), Austrian psychoanalyst and student of Freud’s.
868.1 Ferenczi] Sándor Ferenczi (1873–1933), Hungarian psychoanalyst who proposed that during analysis sessions the psychoanalyst be more actively engaged and verbally responsive than Freud had recommended.
874.34 Silex] Coffeepot made from Pyrex, Corning’s ovenproof glass.
876.16 homo faber] Latin: man the maker.
880.35–36 “Ausable Chasm,” “Howe Caverns,” “Desert of Maine”] Three popular natural tourist attractions in the northeastern United States: a gorge sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks”; a cave in upstate New York visited by vacationers since the 1840s; and a stretch of silt left by a glacier, near Freeport, Maine.
894.9 the Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, and Il Giorno.] Italian daily newspapers, the first and third from Milan, and the second from Turin.
897.39 “i francesi,”] Italian: The French.
898.24 “Une petite station balnéaire,”] French: A small seaside resort.
898.26 “Plage modeste,”] A small beach.
898.38 “en panne.”] Out of order.
899.8–12 “Venga, venga!” . . . Con Romeo?”] Italian: Come, come! . . . Wait! . . . French: Jean, where is Jean? Where is the mattress? . . . Italian: Where is your hat? Where is Michel? Where is Mark? They are already on the way? With Romeo?
900.33 a Tintoretto “Last Judgement,”] Tintoretto, born Jacopo Robusti (c. 1518–1594), Italian Mannerist painter whose oil painting Last Judgment (c. 1560–62) is in the Madonna dell’Orto church in Venice.
901.12–13 Castelnuovo, where Dante had stayed] Dante Alighieri visited Castelnuovo Magra in Liguria in 1306.
902.16 “Qu’est-ce qu’il dit, maman?”] French: What is he saying, mama?
902.37 Ecoute, Arturo. Figure-toi.”] Listen, Arturo. Just imagine.
902.38–39 “Mais c’est vrai, maman! . . . Catherine?”] But it is true, mama! . . . It is true, mama . . . It is true, isn’t it, Catherine?
903.3 “Tais-toi, François!”] Shut up, François!
903.5 Filles des Obscurs Intellectuels de Gauche.] A whimsical mock organization: Daughters of Obscure Left-Wing Intellectuals.
903.6 “C’est dégoutant,”] It’s disgusting.
903.15 “Mais c’est merveilleux!”] But it’s wonderful!
903.20 “Et les juifs, et les juifs, papa!”] And the Jews, and the Jews, papa!
903.26–27 “Pauvre papa, . . . je le suis!”] Poor papa, . . . You’re not Jewish; but I am!
903.28–29 “Modeste station . . . les juifs.”] A small seaside resort, much frequented by Jews.
904.4 “Il cherche le nez,”] He looks for the nose.
904.6–7 “Vous avez tort, . . . l
es juifs.] You are wrong, my boy. I like the Jews.
904.39–40 Sartre or Françoise Sagan] Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980), French existentialist philosopher and man of letters; Sagan, pseudonym of Françoise Quoirez (1935–2004), French novelist whose first book, Bonjour Tristesse (1954), made her a youthful phenomenon.
905.6 “Vous n’aimez pas la nourriture italienne,”] You don’t like Italian food.
905.8–10 “Mais non, . . . français.”] But no, . . . Steak et frites is quite French.
905.27–29 “Lo spiaggione, . . . Parla dello spiaggione.”] Italian: The big beach . . . He says the big beach.
905.29–30 “La grande plage, grand-papa, . . . J’ai compris,”] French: The big beach, grandfather. . . . Yes, my child. I understood.
905.32–33 “Quelle horreur! . . . Arturo?] How awful! Ruined, eh, Arturo?
905.35 “J’ai raison, eh?”] I’m right, eh?
907.3 “Mais c’est tout à fait différent!”] But it’s quite different!
908.29 “Qu’est-ce qui se passe?”] What’s happening?
908.31–32 “C’est les Allemands, . . . Porto Quaglia.”] It’s the Germans, Elisabeth! . . . They’re at Sarzana. They have discovered Porto Quaglia.
908.35 “Cosa, signora? Cosa?”] Italian: What, ma’am? What?
908.36 “I tedeschi, Anna, . . . Son arrivati qui.”] Germans, Anna. . . . They have arrived here.
908.38–39 “Dove? Dove sono, . . . albergo?”] Where? Where are they, professor? . . . At a hotel?
908.39–909.1 “Non è vero, Anna. Almeno è un po’ esagerato.”] It’s not true, Anna. At least it’s a little exaggerated.
910.4–5 A Ste.-Geneviève at the gates of Paris] Patron saint of Paris (c. 422–c. 500), whose call to prayer was believed to have saved the city from Attila the Hun in 451 C.E.
910.16 “Ils ont leurs espions!”] French: They have their spies!
910.33 a Panzer division] An armored division in the German army.
910.40 “ein kleines Fischerdorf.”] German: a small fishing village.
911.1 “Ja, ja, wunderschön!”] Yes, yes, beautiful!
911.6 “Zimmer und Frühstück,” “Lebensmittel”] Bed and Breakfast. Groceries.
911.15–16 “Écoute, Hélène, . . . à Sarzana.”] French: Listen, Hélène. Frank just met two individuals at Sarzana.
911.21 “Tu vois?”] You see?
911.22 “Franchement, je les déteste,”] Frankly, I hate them.
911.27–29 “Soyez sérieux, Mike, . . . touriste moyen.] Be serious, Mike. You know better. We’re talking about the average tourist.
911.31–33 Là il y a l’histoire, . . . à nous.”] There is history, monuments! History, monuments belong to all the world. . . . But Porto Quaglia belongs to us.
912.13–14 “Aide-moi, Arturo. . . . le plan légal.”] Help me, Arturo. . . . He’s right, Hélène. On the legal plan.
912.21 the execution of Caryl Chessman.] Chessman (1921–1960), the “Red Light Bandit,” was convicted of robbery, kidnapping, and rape in 1948 and eventually put to death by the State of California in the gas chamber at San Quentin. (At the time, kidnapping with bodily harm was a capital offense in California.) Chessman studied law and wrote four books while on Death Row, and his case prompted an outcry over capital punishment.
912.28 Harry’s Bar] See note 825.12–13.
913.9 “Ma fille . . . Calme-toi.”] My daughter . . . Calm down.
913.30 “J’ai trop bu à déjeuner,”] I drank too much at lunch.
913.39 “Tu l’as fait exprès, Maurice,”] You did it on purpose, Maurice.
914.6 “Peut-être,”] Possibly.
914.10–13 “Maman a parfaitement raison! . . . comme ça.”] Mama is perfectly right. It’s him, I’m sure of it, who denounced Porto Quaglia to the Germans. He turned pale, like this.
914.27 “Je ne crois pas,”] I don’t believe it.
914.28 “La Voix de la Raison a parlé,”] The Voice of Reason has spoken.
914.30 “Mais en tout cas ce n’est pas une injure,”] But in any case, this isn’t an insult.
914.36 “Mais il n’était pas pro-allemand,”] But he was not pro-German.
915.5–6 “C’est plutôt un juif . . . papa!”] Rather he is a German Jew who became English. . . . But you’re crazy, papa!
915.7 “Favole!”] Italian: Fables!
915.15–16 “Ce n’est pas à cause de mon père,”] French: This is not because of my father.
915.33–34 the Lorelei, Brigitte Bardot] Seductive siren or mermaid who lives upon a rock (also called the Lorelei) above the Rhine; see also note 852.10. Brigitte Bardot (b. 1934), French actress who was a voluptuous film star of the 1950s and 1960s.
916.33–34 Marlowe and the School of Night] Circle of Elizabethan writers inclined toward atheism, thought to include Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618), and George Chapman (c. 1559–1634).
917.18–23 “Le Bâton de Jacob . . . O’Hare?”] Jacob’s Rod and The Three Kings is the same constellation, isn’t it, Monsieur O’Hare?
917.28 “l’alfiere.”] Italian: the standard-bearer.
919.4–5 Chinotto] Italian orange carbonated soft drink.
919.22 the too too solid flesh] Cf. Hamlet, I.ii.129.
919.33 “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?”] German: Do you speak German?
919.40–920.4 “Francobolli, per favore, . . . Per la Germania? . . . Deutschland?”] Italian: Stamps, please. . . . For Germany? . . . German: Germany?
920.11 “Après dix ans c’est un peu fort,”] French: After ten years it is a bit much.
920.13–14 “Comme c’est beau! . . . quanti tedeschi.”] How beautiful it is! . . . Italian: For them, now we’re all Germans.
920.27 “Mais qu’est-ce que tu as, ma petite?”] French: But what’s wrong, my little one?
920.36 Stendhal] See note 347.13.
921.1–3 “Mais c’est inouï! . . . se cacher!”] But it’s unheard of! . . . That my father cannot go out in public because of these Germans! It is they who should have to hide.
921.8 Covermark] Concealer makeup for blemishes and birthmarks patented in 1932.
921.30–32 “No, Paulo, . . . All’altra spiaggia.”] Italian: No, Paula, not Rocca Bianca. . . . There are too many people. The other beach.
922.15–16 Garibaldi mustaches] Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882), a central figure in the history of Italian unification, wore a full beard and robust mustache.
924.7–8 Arturo pense la même chose.”] French: Arturo thinks the same thing.
924.24 “C’est-à-dire le marbre,”] That is to say, the marble.
925.36 Millet] French painter Jean-François Millet (1814–1875), perhaps best known for realistic rural scenes such as The Sower and The Angelus.
926.14 “Il justifie le capitalisme,”] He justifies capitalism.
926.16–19 “Il justifie le progrès, . . . Moi non,”] He justifies progress. . . . And you are against progress? . . . But naturally. . . . Me also. . . . Not me.
926.20–21 “Regarde-moi ça, . . . Allemands.”] Look at that, papa! . . . My children have become conservative, thanks to the Germans.
926.33 “Viens, mon fils, . . . C’est l’heure.”] Come, my son. It’s time.
926.37 “Regarde, mon fils,”] Look, my son.
927.1–3 “Elles sont belles, . . . Pourquoi?”] They are beautiful, these mountains? . . . Yes. . . . Why?
927.5–8 “Parce que le marbre . . . pas le progrès.”] Because the marble looks like snow. . . . It’s all a trick. It’s false snow. And it doesn’t justify progress.
927.13–14 “Elles sont loin, les carrières.”] They are far, the quarries.
927.18–19 “Visitate le cave di marmo,”] Italian: Visit the marble quarries.
927.37 “Bien sûr,”] French: Of course.
928.15 “Ça suffit, pa
pa!”] That’s enough, papa!
929.3–4 “Mais tu t’es . . . Sûrement.”] But you are wrong, Maurice. Surely.
931.7 “On peut visiter, maman?”] Can we visit, mama?
931.15 “Qu’est-ce que tu es venu chercher ici, papa?”] What did you come to look for here, papa?
931.17–18 “Rien, . . . Une petite distraction.”] Nothing. . . . A small distraction.
931.27 “Très laid,”] Very ugly.
931.29–30 “François a eu raison. . . . la vraie neige.”] François was right. It is fake snow. Like in the theater. We like it because we like the true snow.
931.37–38 “C’est moi, tu le sais, qui l’a faussée.”] It’s me, you know, who is fake.
932.8 “Ce qui est vrai, Hélène, c’est le travail.”] What is true, Hélène, is the work.
932.12 “J’aime les vacances. Je déteste le travail,”] I love vacations. I hate work.
932.16 “Et comment c’était, dans la carrière?”] And how was it, in the quarry?
932.19 “C’est pas joli,”] It’s not pretty.
932.33–34 “ ‘Ah, comme elles sont belles, . . . Nature!’ ”] ‘Ah, how beautiful they are, the marble mountains!’ ‘I love Nature!’
932.38–39 “Surtout les âmes sensibles.”] Especially sensitive souls.
933.2 “Je ne sais pas,”] I don’t know.
933.4–5 “les vacances payées.”] Paid vacations.
933.17–18 “Il faut avoir une réponse, Hélène. . . . de savoir.”] You must have an answer, Helene. This is an important issue. The whole world has a right to know.
933.22–23 “Un château en Espagne?”] A castle in Spain?
933.25–26 “Bon, donc. Au travail.”] Well, then. To work.
933.30 “Oui, c’était beau,”] Yes, it was beautiful.
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