Tag Archives: Shem and Shaun

A Zero-Sum Game in the Land of Space (Part 1)

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HCE’s fall results in his breaking into two halves, two “sons,” each with some of the qualities of the Father. Shem and Shaun are the introvert and the extrovert; the poet and the politician; the blasphemer and the priest; the oppressed and the oppressor; the shunned and the celebrated. And so on. They are the “contrary” forces that William Blake writes about.

They battle each other in conflicts that represent the wars of history and all interpersonal conflicts ever (which correspond to the brawl at Finnegan’s Wake in the song). But at the end of the day, they’re just two little boys scuffling.

Two early and significant explorations of the brothers occur in I.6 and I.4, the former a diatribe from Shaun about his brother, and the latter a description of a fight between early versions of the brothers before they fully divide from the father.

This post will examine the passage in I.6, and a future post will look more closely at the passage in I.4.

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Sartor Resartus: Clothing in Finnegans Wake (Part 1)

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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.

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