Engaged in an ‘Epizzle’
READING ISSY’S PRACTICE LETTER IN FINNEGANS WAKE
WITH THE PRINTED LETTERS IN ULYSSES

Joyce riddles his fiction with letters, from the critically significant ALP letter in Finnegans Wake to the generally ignored letters of Milly Bloom and Martha Clifford in Ulysses. Among Joyce’s fictious letters, one key writing by Issy exists in a unique space in the Wake: her practice letter (280.09-36). If Milly Bloom’s letter represents a world of sexual innocence and Martha Clifford’s a world of overt sexuality, then Issy’s writing bridges the gap between these contrasting female portraits, pushing the boundaries of prescribed femininity.

In this paper, I will show that these two sides of Issy’s personality (the pure, innocent virgin and the highly sexual temptress/whore) which appear in her practice letter is analogous to the printed letters of Ulysses. That is, Issy’s model letter embodies elements and themes of both the thank you note Milly sends to her father, Leopold Bloom, as well as Martha’s Clifford’s correspondence with Henry Flower (pseudonym of Bloom). In her letter, Milly portrays an ideal world while giving concrete details about her life and surroundings; any reference to her sexuality remains innocent. In contrast, Martha’s world is abstract, mysterious and promiscuously filled with sexual allusions. With Issy exemplifying all of these characteristics in her personality and through her writing, I believe that an explication of Issy’s practice letter can be illuminated by reading it in tandem with Milly Bloom’s thank you note and Martha Clifford’s lover letter.

A number of critics point to the duality of the Issy character: she is both saint (virgin) and temptress (whore). The two selves of Issy, generally thought to be based upon the multiple personalities of Christine Beauchamp, can also easily be described as a nightworld combination of the daytime facades of Milly and Martha. In addition, a number of comparisons can be made between Issy and Milly who, as daughter figures, are just beginning to become sexual beings, to replace their mothers (ALP and Molly) in the eyes of their fathers, HCE and Bloom.

Letters, of course, are imperfect communications. We know Milly’s letter is imperfect because of the miscommunication in the postscript "excuse bad writing." Perhaps her handwriting is illegible, or maybe the time-constraints imposed from being in a hurry forces her to edit or censor herself from writing all that she would like to say. Similarly, Martha’s letter is imperfect because of the inclusion of typographical errors or grammatical mistakes, and because we’re never entirely certain of her identity. Finally, Issy’s letter is imperfect because it is incomplete, with text censored or warped by the mind of the dreamer.

Before analyzing Issy’s letter, one must be aware of the differences between reading the letters in the day-time of Ulysses versus the night-time of the Wake. Reading the letters in Ulysses follows a simpler process because, in terms of placement in the text, they are complete and straight-forward. Although the content of the letters remains open for interpretation, there is no doubt that the reader gets the entire letter that Milly wrote as well as the whole text of Martha’s letter. They exist on the page separated by white space from the rest of the novel. Since we read them along with Bloom, we are not at mercy of the dreamer’s mind who reconstructs the letters through his psyche and may sift out parts of them, thus making the texts in the Wake more elusive. No one can question the authority of the letters in Ulysses as texts or as actual letters. We may question the sender, and we may even differ in the letter’s interpretation, but we have an unassailable text. We have the entire letter from ‘Dear’ to signature. However, the letters in Finnegans Wake operate in a different world. Although the practice letter beings with ‘Dear’ and ends ‘from’ someone, it doesn’t stand out on the page like Milly or Martha’s letters. It contains more than simply the letter-text, rather it includes parenthetical statements and descriptions of mannerisms. With these extra challenges, it seems wise to look elsewhere in the Wake for some guidance, such as the words of Issy’s teacher and her accompanying footnote.

[A]ll the world’s in want and is writing a letters.⁵ A letters from a person to a place about a thing. And all the world’s on wish to be carrying a letters. A letter to a king about a treasure from a cat. When men want to write a letters. Ten men, ton men, pen men, pun men, wont to rise a ladder. . . . Is there any lettersday from many peoples, Daganasanavitch? . . . A posy cord. Plece.

_______________________________________________

⁵ To be slipped on, to be slept by, to be conned to, to be kept up. And when you’re done push the chain. (FW 278.13-23)

An introduction to the world of letters within Finnegans Wake best begins by looking at the writing lesson in Book II Chapter 2 as well as part of the description of the Boston, Mass. letter (93) which echoes some of the points made in Issy’s footnote. As the children’s professor states, "All the world’s in want and is writing a letters," which has numerous possible meanings. First of all, it is feasible that the reference to "world" may refer back to the world/word controversy in Ulysses. Martha Clifford, states that she does "not like that other world," but asks, "What is the real meaning of that other word?" The "word" needs the letter "l" to become "world" – the "world" needs a letter removed to become the "word." In Martha’s letter, the missing letter is what takes us into the other world of sexuality; in Finnegans Wake the other words take us into another world.

The world is "in want" because it simply lacks words despite the many interpretations of ALP’s Letter, for in Finnegans Wake we never get the entire text. There is something always lacking, always missing, always in want in the versions we do find. In the world of the Wake there is a desire for letters and desire in the letters, specifically those written by Issy (including her love letters to her professor [279.F1], to Jaunick [457-60] and even in the practice letter [280]). Desire writes itself in Martha Clifford’s letter as well, to appease the sexual needs of Bloom. This desire, this sexuality is what Bloom fears in Milly’s letter and something that HCE fears has found its way into Issy’s practice letter.

Issy’s footnote to the professor’s writing lesson also instructs the reader how to interpret the various letters in the Wake and Ulysses, as her comments illuminate various aspects of the letters in both of these novels. Shari Benstock, in her article, "The Letter of the Law: La Carte Postale in Finnegans Wake," also discusses this passage:

This analysis suggests that the need to write letters is generalized that letters themselves share certain properties (‘a letter from a person to a place about a thing’), and that, in particular, the letters here are to a ‘king about a treasure from a cat.’ The king designates Earwicker whose occupation (as Tim Finnegan) is ‘to rise a ladder,’ that is, to write a letter. ‘Pen men’ and ‘pun men’ embody the elements of the writing trade (pens and puns), suggesting that writing is a male task. The footnotes, written by Issy, constitute a ‘lady’s postscript’ (42.9), a marginal commentary on the primary text as well as a parallel text to the story the chapter tells. These notes delineate the connections between letters and desire, between psychoanalysis and dreams: the letters are ‘slipped on’ (as Freudian ‘slips’) ‘slept by’ (the impetus to dream), they serve as blackmail weapons (‘to be conned’) as well as phallic symbols (‘to be kept up’). . . . [It] is suggested here in the pushing of the ‘chain’ that will start the letter on its way through the postal (sewage) system (Benstock Law 175).

"To be slipped on," may refer to mistakes in a letter, such as Martha Clifford’s various "slips," whether they be Freudian or grammatical, or slips of the finger on the keyboard. Also, "slipped on" echoes "slipping like soap" which can relate to deceptiveness in letters, such as the pseudonyms Issy uses to sign her practice letter or the fake name to whom Martha unknowingly addresses her letter. "To be slept on" is especially meaningful to the letters in Finnegans Wake , a book composed of dreams, thus letters are written into the sleepy sub-conscious. In addition, "to be slept on" implies giving oneself time to contemplate an issue or problem more deeply. Since the letter in Finnegans Wake reappears in multiple forms and the letters in Ulysses come to Bloom’s mind at various points in the day, this interpretation is also an relevant and useful way to view letterwriting. "To be conned to" applies to Martha’s letter, since it is part of secretive and dishonest series of correspondence. It is written to a pseudonym and, since we never know if there really is a "Martha Clifford," it could just as well be from another fake name. In addition, if one can use letters as weapons, Martha threatens punishment numerous times within her letter ("will punish you if you do not wrote"). Furthermore, since conning implies stealing, it also fits with the concept of "borrowing a word." Since Issy’s practice letter is modeled from a copy book (or from the Boston, Mass. Letter itself?), and Milly and Martha’s letters both contain formulaic and stilted language, each could be accused of "borrowing a word." Finally, "to be kept up" applies to both Martha and Issy’s letters since they beg for future correspondence as well as contain sexual language and may be used for titillation.

As stated earlier, a number of critics discuss the duality of Issy’s personality,

including Claudine Raynaud in her article, "Woman, the Letter Writer; Man, the Writing Master":

[Adaline Glasheen has already made apparent how Issy’s other selves may be constructed after Morton Prince’s patient Christine Beauchamp who suffered from personality disorders. Sally was Miss Beauchamp’s subconscious self and she used to write letters to her other self, the saintly nurse Christine. Indeed, some of the letters are signed by Christine: for dear thankyou Chriesty" (FW 111.14), "with best from cinder Christinette" (FW 280.21-22). Glasheen explores the construction of two opposite selves. On one side, we have the pure, innocent, highly ethical Christine, Issy as the little child, "Nuvoletta" (FW 157-59), the "nurse Saintette Isabelle" (FW 556-07). On the other side stands her double Sally, the wicked, highly sexual, extroverted, subconscious self. In the Wake Sally becomes the child-temptress, the unashamed little girl who will bring about HCE’s fall. Issy’s footnotes (FW II.2) are extremely subversive and Pepette’s messages to her lovers (FW 145 ff and 457 ff) are the locus and the moment of sexual temptation (Raynaud 303)

As well as Shari Benstock in her chapter in Women in Joyce:

R]eferences to "Christine L. Beauchamp" (Dr. Prince’s patient) and to "Sally" (Miss Beauchamp’s alter ego) abound in the Issy sections of Finnegans Wake, Glasheen sees similarities between the two women: the Christine/Sally split is reflected most obviously in Issy’s uneasy amalgam of the sacred and profane, one side of the split ego characterized by the virgin Nuvoletta, the other by the sexually provocative and enticing temptress. Carrying the argument further, Glasheen suggests that the "Maggies," Earwicker’s temptresses in Phoenix Park, are another extension of Issy and "her grateful sister reflection in a mirror" (220.9) and that the famous letter from Boston, Mass., is written from one Maggy "selfpenned" to her "other" (489.33-34). This interpretation suggests that Issy-as-temptress is her father’s downfall, but Issy-as-letterwriter is her father’s salvation, the letter itself constituting the defense which can resurrect him. In short, the argument rests on the implicit assumption that a psychologically unstable daughter – the disintegrated Issy – serves both as her father’s destroyer and as the agent of his redemption (Benstock WIJ 169-70).

Whether Issy indeed suffers from a mental disease such as multiple personality disorder or a schizophrenic is moot here. More importantly, we can trace the two sides of her personality in her writing, as Benstock describes in the chapter "The Genuine Christine: Psychodynamics of Issy" in Women in Joyce as well as Adaline Glasheen states in the Third Census of Finnegans Wake,

Issy, daughter for HCE and ALP, the young nubile who is both the saccharine sweet ‘nuvoletta in her lightdress, spunn of sisteen shimmers’ (157.8), and the sexually precocious writer of obscene footnotes to the children’s lessons in II.2 (Benstock WIJ 169)

Issy knows her letters because she has eaten of the fruit, and she proves her knowledge when one part of her dissociated self writes a mash note, thanking the professor who taught her to err (279.F1); the other part of her personality writes a model letter, modeled on the letter from Boston, Mass. (280.1-281.3) (Glasheen li)

Unlike the clearly-drawn character of Issy, one could say that the reader never gets a clear and definitive idea of who Martha or Milly are because in some sense are allegorical. These characters can be viewed as possible illustrations of how women publicly portray or mask sexuality. Women can easily hide behind these facades in the daylight of Ulysses, but in the night dream of Finnegans Wake these two aspects of sexuality come together. Thus both virgin/whore aspects of female sexuality reveals itself in the one character of Issy. Through her writing, we see Issy’s innocence and her sensuality; she is more of a psychological portrait with these two "worlds" are at play within the practice letter.

The practice letter is unique because it is the only Boston, Mass. version definitively attributed to Issy. It resembles Milly’s letter since both, in the purest sense, are chatty, unoriginal, formulaic letters with hints of innocence and promise. Milly’s letter is a simple thank-you note following the basic structure of such a formal response by starting off with a thank you, giving details on her current life, thanking the sender of gifts once again and signing off. Similarly, Issy’s letter follows this same structure.

A quick scan of the letters above may initially find little in common between the two missives, but a close reading uncovers a number of similarities. For instance, Sheri Benstock’s description of Issy’s practice letter in her article, "The Letter of the Law: La Carte Postale in Finnegans Wake" could easily apply to Milly’s:

At one level this letter is the kind of chatty, informal ‘introduction to domestic circles’ that the young Issy writes under the guidance (under the dictation) of her mother, who provides the homemaker model, one of whose duties is to establish correspondence, to write letters – of condolence, congratulations, acknowledgment, appreciation, etc. (Benstock 177).

Milly’s letter acknowledges her appreciation as she thanks both her mother and father for the birthday presents they have given her. Likewise, the practice letter, although it does not include

the word "thanks," does acknowledge the "pershan of cates" or present of wedding cakes. It also serves as a note of condolence for a recent funeral. Both letters speak of familial or social affairs: Issy mentions the "happy funeral" and Milly writes of the scrap picnic on Monday and the upcoming concert on Saturday. Both letters begin with Dear (although for Milly it’s Dearest) and end with a variation of "my best" (Issy writes "with best" and Milly writes "send my best respects"). Finally, both mention briefly issues of love or potential love interest.

In terms of structure of the letters, both follow a formal structure, as if from a letterwriting book. Because both Issy and Milly are young, inexperienced, and still learning, their letters have a hint naïveté about them, a virginal innocence. These letters are conventional, format-driven notes with little imagination, and, without context, they have no tangible sincerity.

Because we are not sure who Issy writes to (and quite possibly it is herself) the letter is entirely her world. Milly, who writes to her father, explores the world outside of herself. Therefore, Issy’s missive may reflect more subconscious, internal desires. What goes on in Issy’s mind may be what’s happening in Milly’s. However, Bloom can’t see what’s in Milly’s head: he only has the text. Since Milly writes her for her father, she requires an outside interpreter, someone else to define her. Whereas, if Issy is the writer of the letter to herself, there is no outsider to interpret it for her – the writer and interpreter are one and the same, wrapped together in the letter itself.

Both Issy and Milly’s letters refer to the writing process. At times in Issy’s letter these notes on the act of writing are parenthetical, i.e., "(Wave gently in the er turning ptover)" which possibly refers to her turning over the piece of paper to write on the other side. Other times the actions are included within the text as, "Shlicksher" (FW 280.10), or Issy licks either her pencil or finger and "Shrubsher: (FW 280.16), or she rubs her (the cat). Claudine Raynaud comments in "Woman, the Letter Writer; Man, the Writing Master" that these mannerisms suggest sexual intercourse (Raynaud 313). However, Benstock argues that this descriptions of her actions "Schlicksher . . . Shrubsher . . . Sherubsherruthr" represent Issy "in concentration" (Benstock WIJ 187). One may also argue that they could instead be actions of boredom. With the long love letters that Issy writes later on in the novel, Issy may feel above this simple epistolary lesson. Regardless, by watching Issy actually create the letter, we are reading it as she writes it rather than reading the final product along with the recipient as is the case with Milly’s letter.

Although we do not have written explanations of Milly’s mannerisms while she writes her letter, we can reconstruct the circumstance of the letter-writing environment. A strong sense of time and place is developed through Milly’s descriptions ("I hear a piano downstairs") which allow us to envision where she is (upstairs) and what is going on in her surroundings while she is writing the letter. In addition, the process of writing is also alluded to in Milly’s letter when she writes in parentheses: "(I was on the pop of writing Blazes Boylan’s)." In this moment she lets the reader into her mind and into her thought processes that occur while she writes. Obviously Milly didn’t plan on writing this sentence into her letter, but as the thought came into her mind, she wrote it down. This parenthetical takes us away for a moment from the active writing of the letter just as in "Schlicksher" does in Issy’s letter. The "excuse bad writing" postscript also draws the reader into the writing process because it alerts the reader that the writer critiques her own letter just as the reader will.

The description of the process of writing the practice letter is similar to Bloom’s recollection of one of Milly’s early letters that he finds in a drawer:

An infantile epistle, dated, small em monday, reading: capital pee Papli comma capital aitch How are you note of interrogation capital eye I am very well full stop new paragraph signature with flourishes capital em Milly not stop (17.1791-94)

Although the descriptors in this letter are included by Bloom and not Milly, it still is useful in showing how Milly was taught to write. Perhaps Bloom is the one to critique Milly’s writing just as he corrects Martha’s letter and explains the meaning of words to Molly.

Both Issy and Milly hand-write their respective letters, thus allowing for more comparison. The practice letter holds a number of references to the art of penmanship including an allusion to Vere Foster, who McHugh lists in his annotations as the author of handwriting books, as well as the terms "pothooks" and "curly mequeues" which also refer to letter formation (McHugh 280). We can visualize the process somewhat with movement of letter creation and the actions of Issy between writing the letters.

The act of writing, of penning, is recorded and we are given a description of the letters she forms on the page: ‘Those pothooks mostly she hawks from Poppa Vere Foster but these curly mequeues are of Mippa’s moulding’ (FW 280.16-18). She is being taught how to write from the writing manual, possibly by the mother (‘Mippa"), yet the figure of the father looms, if only faintly, behind the curling of the letters ("Poppa" and "Mippa"; "mequeues": queue: tail, male sexual organ). Issy is being socialized through the practice of writing; she reproduces the order of the father down to its minutest calligraphic details even if the instructor is female (Raynaud 312-313).

As Issy adds flourishes to her lettering, Milly most likely scribbles her note quickly, thus explaining why she adds the postscript "Excuse bad writing, am in a hurry, Byby." Critics have debated over whether "bad writing" refers to her penmanship or to the quality of the letter’s text. Although we do not see her handwriting, we can assume that if she is in a hurry, her handwriting may suffer a bit in the rush.

Both letters use the word "lovely" to describe a present of food; for Milly, a "lovely box of creams," for Issy, a "lovely pershan of cates" (present/parcel of cakes). The inclusion of this word in both letters is important because it has the feel of a word taken straight out of an etiquette manual. It seems like a "crutch" word, something you include when you can’t think of anything else to say, that loses its meaning in overuse. (Milly repeats the word in her short note three times). Repetition is something also found in Issy’s letter. She uses "very" three times in a single word to describe "chumming," a word that itself appears twice.

As her mother’s successor, Issy must learn to write letters – chatty, friendly notes to relatives far away, offering greetings or condolences or extended thanks for gifts sent; since Finnegans Wake is the epistle being written by ALP, dictated to her song Shem (Joyce), it seems reasonable that Issy should be receiving education in the writing of such an epistolary record. (Benstock WIJ 186).

In the practice letter, we witness Issy taking writing lessons writing to train her in her future occupation as wife. Milly’s letter also explores her new world of training, but instead of following her mother’s (and Issy’s) footsteps, Milly has been given the opportunity to engage in a more creative and non-traditional career, apprentice photographer. Despite the somewhat different paths Issy and Milly seem to be on, each is gaining experience, being socialized and learning their role in the world. As stated earlier, Milly’s letter is a friendly thank-you note to her father. Thus, it seems likely that if Issy has her lessons in letterwriting, so to did Milly. And if Milly can critique her own letter as "bad" then she must then know what good writing is, having been taught like Issy.

Both Issy and Milly learn at least part of their writing styles from their mothers. As suggested below, Issy learned the rules of grammar from her mother/nurse Asa:

Indeed, it is the mother (as A.N., Nourse Asa, a type of Anna Livia, from whom Issy admits to having ‘learned all the runes of the gamest game ever’ [279.F1]) who is addressed by the letter. And it is the mother who signs (under the name of Aburn chenlemagne. Pious and pure one" (280.72-28]) the letter, this missive duplicating and enclosing aspects of Anna Livia as mother, daughter, lover, mistress, sister under its salutation and signature (Benstock 177).

In addition, one can infer that Issy learns the curlicues in her penmanship from her mother (or "Mippa"). Just as one may read Issy’s letter as ending with her mother’s signature as Benstock suggests, so, in a sense, does Milly’s. Towards the end of her note, Milly’s style of writing appears to take the tone and format of her mother’s own speech pattern. As Bonnie Kime Scott describes in Joyce and Feminism, Milly’s sentence about men (which mentions Blazes Boylan, her mother's lover, as well as Bannon, her own potential lover) is similar to Molly’s style of thinking in the "Penelope" episode:

Only in the letter’s most intimate news do the sentences run together. The effect is to associate her boyfriend, Bannon, with Molly’s Boylan, and to confuse and combine men, as Molly does in her monologue (Scott J&F, p. 165-66).

The similar influence of "mother" on theirs daughters’ letters is telling. Milly ends her letter in Molly’s voice, Issy ends her letter by signing ALP. Thus, the Mippa-feminine voice is passed down in both cases, a universal feminine ecriture.

In keeping with the theme of following the role of mother, both letters give reference to a potential love interest. Issy’s practice letter includes allusions to her as Cinderella looking for idealized, socialized perception love in a Prince Charming.

[T]he letter also incorporates various elements of Issy’s seductive nature, exploiting a provocative vocabulary that reveals – without specifically addressing (that is, naming) – the object of desire : F.M., Father Michael, the parish priest (pp), who serves both as a representative of God the Father (and therefore is a figure of Earwicker) and in the place Brother Mick (Shaun, who plays at various times the roles of priest, postman and policeman – a representative of the law, a figure of authority), the ‘prints chumming’ for whom Christinette ‘can be when desires Soldi’ (that is exchanged, sold as the double) (Benstock JJQ 177).

Likewise, Milly mentions a potential suitor, Bannon, in her letter which reifies her sexuality. By entering the domestic circle and/or by finding love interests (Prince Charming and Bannon), both Issy and Milly are becoming like their mothers. And, both are replacing their mothers in their fathers’ eyes. As Bloom philosophizes, "Molly. Milly. Same thing watered down" (6.87), so to can this be applied to Issy and ALP, who herself is symbolized as a river.

It is at the end of the practice letter where the worlds of innocence and sexuality begin to collide/combine, where similarities to Milly’s childishly naive world are replaced by references from Martha’s love letter to Henry Flower. The inclusion of kisses connects the letters of Issy, Milly and Martha. Milly states, "Give my love to mummy and to yourself a big kiss and thanks." Issy closes with a "kissits my exits" and Martha includes X.X.X.X. representing kisses at the bottom of her letter. The implications of these kisses, at first, seem quite different. Milly's kiss to her father, in one sense, represents an open expression of an innocent father-daughter love whereas Martha's kisses denote an attempt at an illicit affair. Similarly, Issy’s parting kisses seem to have more of a romantic rather than platonic implication.

After reading Milly's letter, Bloom reflects upon her as a child, then how she will grow up to become a sexual young woman.

Milly too. Young kisses: the first. Far away now past. . . .

A soft qualm regret, flowed down his backbone, increasing. Will happen, yes. Prevent. Useless: can't move. Girl's sweet light lips. Will happen too. He felt the flowing qualm spread over him. Useless to move now. Lips kissed, kissing, kissed. Full gluey woman's lips (G 4 55:446-450).

Likewise, Issy’s kisses link back to the father’s view of her sexuality and fading innocence.

Her sexual explicitness – "kissists my exits" (FW 280.27) – is linked to [her father] too as the desire of Prince for Issy/Soldi is voiced(Raynaud 309).

This letter, like the Christmas missive, seems to be perfectly innocent and domestic. But, of course, Earwicker’s guilt leads him to suspect otherwise (Benstock WIJ 187).

Of course, another way to read "kissets my exits" is, as McHugh notes, "kiss my arse." It is possible that through the placement of this remark, Issy may be asserting that she will not be bound by the socially-constructed view of idealized love, that she will not be looking for the ideal man, the one prince charming. Perhaps she’s more interested in leading a life like Milly Bloom, who is following a more unconventional lifestyle by being a photographer’s apprentice rather than a bride. Or perhaps this declaration signals Issy’s desire to have more than one man in her life, which appears to be the case after one reads her love letter to Jaunick that includes the names many suitors.

A further influence of the sexual world of Martha can be seen in the inclusion of "using

her flower or perfume" in Issy’s practice letter. Like Martha, Issy describes using her flower or perfume to lure a man, that is, learning the wiles of femininity. Martha includes a flower in her letter to Henry as well as adding a postscript in which she asks, "Do tell me what kind of perfume

does your wife use. I want to know." Martha, who asserts herself as an active participant in the language of flowers by enclosing a daisy symbolizing "innocence" with her letter, asks for the kind of perfume Molly’s uses so that she can read the unwritten meaning behind her choice of fragrance and therefore know more about her. It is telling that both these references are included in Issy’s letter – representing her dual nature.

Just as with Milly’s letter, a close reading of Issy’s practice letter in contrast with Martha Clifford’s love letter results in quite a number of similarities. First of all, both ask about the recipient’s health [Issy "(equiries after all-healths) how are you (question Maggy)"; Martha: "Are you not happy in your home . . . ?"]. The desire for future correspondence also links Issy and Martha’s letters [Issy: (consolation of shopes) to soon air; Martha: "Please write me a long letter and tell me more"]. In addition, apologetic words appear in both Martha and Issy’s letters as well. Issy writes, "so sorry to (mention person suppressed for the moment, F.M.)" and Martha

explains, "I am sorry you did not like my last letter." Issy’s condolences for Father Michael seem more like a formal statement rather than actual grief. Ultimately one questions how sincere we can take Martha’s apology since her letter is later laced with talk of punishment.

Just as Martha’s letter contains suggestive speech ("I do wish I could punish you for that," "naughty darling,"etc.) Issy’s letter contains several terms that could take on a sexual meaning, as Benstock describes:

"Shlicksher . . . shrubsher" as well as the signature "kissists my exits" take on double meanings. One again it may be Earwicker’s fears, rather than anything offered by the letter itself, which place suspicion on his young daughter’s motives. [Benstock WIJ 187]

Further, as Bloom refers to corresponding with Martha as "Usual love scrimmage" (78), so too can one apply Issy’s comment, ‘learned all the runes of the gamest game ever’ [279.F1]) to the word play involved in her letter.

Another way in which the practice letter mimics Martha’s letter is the use of aliases. In both letters, the author and the recipient are either unknown or masked by another’s signature. We know that Henry Flower is an alias, but Martha Clifford could be a fake name as well. Likewise, the recipient of Issy’s letter is equally mysterious, as Raynaud analyzes:

She writes: "Dear (name of desired subject, A.N.)" (FW 280.09). Interestingly enough, Issy is not writing to the desired object, but to the desired subject, and the initials which could stand for Amati Nominem, Ann (A.L.P.), or Ananymus (FW 423.02) suggest how ambiguous the name of the addressee is -- is it the mother, her lover, herself, HCE as the desired subject? (Raynaud 308)

In addition, Issy signs her letter "with best from cinder Christinette" as well as "from Auburn chenlemagne." As stated earlier, Sheri Benstock argues that the letter is signed by ALP, but Raynaud reasons that it is Christine:

The letter, we then find, is in fact addressed to Maggy, like the prototype letter, but Issy signs it with one of her pseudonyms. Here she is Christine Beauchamp ("Christinette" – FW 280.22), the sister and also the Cinderella figure (Raynaud 308),

Is the letter to and from ALP? Or, to her father and from her mother? Or, could it be to and from the two sides of personality?

In this paper, I’ve attempted to read Issy’s practice letter as an extension of both Milly

Bloom and Martha Clifford’s in Ulysses. In the daylight of Ulysses the two sides of femininity,

Milly’s innocence and Martha’s sexuality, come together in a single night writing of Issy. Yet, this final conclusion differs slightly from what I had initially prepared to do in this paper. Originally, I planned to compare Issy’s practice letter with Milly’s note to father and Issy’s love letter to Jaunick with Martha Clifford’s correspondence to Henry Flower. However, as I started writing

about the practice letter I realized there was much more in those few lines than I had anticipated. Not only was Milly’s influence stamped on the letter, but Martha’s as well, with the double meanings in suggestive speech, the flower and perfume reference, the kisses and use of aliases.

WORKS CITED

Benstock, Bernard. "A Working Outline of Finnegans Wake," in James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake: A Casebook, John Harty III (ed), New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1991. pp. 3-9.

Benstock, Shari. "The Letter of the Law: La Care Postale in Finnegans Wake." Philological Quarterly, 63(2) 1984 Spring: 163-185..

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______. Ulysses. Edited by Hans Walter Gabler with Wolfhard Steppe and Claus Melchior, Afterword by Michael Groden. New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 1986 (Afterword 1993).

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Verstraete, Ginette. "In the Wake of Criticism" (Chapter 10 in Fragments of the Feminine Sublime in Friedrich Schlegel and James Joyce). State University of New York Press: Albany, NY, 1998. [pp. 201-206 in particular refers to the tea stain on the letter.]

Website: "The Language of Flowers." http://cybercom.net/~klb/flowik.html

Includes meanings from Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers and The Floral Gift. From Nature and the Heart.