In one version of HCE’s story, he is attacked by three soldiers and/or is witnessed committing his unnamed crime by them.

These three figures symbolically correspond to HCE’s two sons, Shem and Shaun (his introverted and extroverted aspects), plus their combined form. This combined form appears as a Cad in the Park who accosts HCE in other versions of the story (he additionally corresponds to Tristan, who cuckolds HCE after his fall and then becomes the next HCE in the next cycle).

The three soldiers are also called three tailors. They spread stories and rumors about HCE, so they are tale-ers, but they are also the energies that weave the “suit” of life for him, the circumstances of his life, and his body (which is also the court suit brought against him, representing our tendency to attack ourselves for our guilt and to scapegoat others).

In their aspect as tailors, they are like the Three Fates in Greek mythology, weaving the thread of existence until the appointed time comes for it to be cut.