Finn group recap--pages 237-239

I haven't been all that good about recapping where we as a group actually got to in the last session, so let me correct that a bit. It's pretty easy this time. We began on page 237 with the rainbow girls saying "Enchainted, dear sweet Stainusless..."

Stainusless is of course a play on Stanislaus, Joyce's brother, who has the fortunate or unfortunate role of playing the good or at least "upright" brother. Shaun to his Shem, Chuff to his Glugg, and so on. In the story right now, as Chuff, he is in the enviable position of both the center of their circle and the center of their admiring attention as well. (Glugg is well out of the charmed circle). Although he is being worshipped, it is somewhat in negative form, as he is NOT unclean, NOT outcaste, all of which brings us back to remembering Shem, the one who is all these things. And 'stainusless' is after all not the same thing as 'stainusnotatall'. There's a bit of wolf in sheep's clothing aspect to Chuff.

Brought into the litany of worship are some other elements that we noticed and speculated about. There's a lot about Egypt and the Egyptian underworld in particular. There is also a lot of Buddhism, or more precisely, the tales of Buddha's life, this time in the form of the tale of the hermit and a very faithful hare. And many many plays on words involving the Catholic mass. ("May he colp, may he colp her, may he mixandmass colp her!")Also a bit of a tale from Greek tragedy, about Philomena and the King of Thrace.

Ready for the next meeting, then? Well, as always, ready as we'll ever be.