The thesis is divided into seven parts. The first part concentrates on the Arabian Nights in Finnegans Wake, drawing attention to Joyce's use of Sir Richard Burton's translation and critical appreciation of the Nights. Beginning with a consideration of Joyce and Yeats's common interests in the Nights, the thesis examines the presence in the Wake of the women of the Nights, Sinbad the Sailor, and two of the tales of the Nights relevant to the character of HCE. The second part of the thesis explores Joyce's assimilation of Hinduism with special emphasis on Madame Blavatsky as his major source. Most of my argument springs out of the Hindu concept of "Sandhya" with which Book IV of the Wake begins. I find "Sandhya" as the point at which the contraries, the temporal and the eternal, merge in Hinduism. The third part, devoted to Islam, looks at the way the life-story of the prophet Mohammed is told in the Wake. Since Joyce refers to the Koran in the Wake, those allusions and names of the surahs are deciphered in detail. The monotheistic doctrine of unity in diversity is emphasised. Joyce's absorption of Persian vocabulary and Zoroastrianism, are discussed in the fourth part. The Conclusion then attempts an overall estimate of Joyce's Eastern interests. The notes and references used in the thesis are stated in the sixth part. Finally, the seventh part consists of three appendices listing additional Eastern vocabulary both in the Wake and the Notebooks together with explanations of more significant words.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:282840 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Choudhry, Zulfiqar Ali |
| Publisher | University of Reading |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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