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I.2: The Cad Encounter (pp. 30–47)

The second chapter establishes HCE's mysterious guilt through his fateful encounter with "a cad with a pipe" in Phoenix Park—an innocent meeting that his guilty conscience transforms into the seed of scandal.

Quick Reference​

DetailInformation
Pages30–47
Vico AgeTheocratic (Age of Gods)
TimeEvening
SettingPhoenix Park, Dublin
Main CharactersHCE, The Cad

Synopsis​

The Encounter​

A man identified as HCE (under various names) walks through Phoenix Park. He encounters "a cad with a pipe" who greets him in Irish and asks the time. HCE, burdened by an obscure guilt, misinterprets this innocent question as an accusation.

HCE's Guilty Response​

Instead of simply giving the time, HCE launches into an unprompted, stammering defense of himself—denying crimes the cad has not mentioned. His "hesitency" (a key word in the book) betrays him.

The Rumors Begin​

The cad goes home, muttering HCE's strange words. His wife overhears. She tells her priest. The priest tells others. The rumor spreads through Dublin's "social unconscious."

The Ballad​

A man named Hosty composes a scurrilous ballad about HCE—"The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly"—that cements his disgrace.

The Crime That May Not Have Happened​

The nature of HCE's alleged crime is deliberately obscure. Various versions suggest:

  • He exposed himself to two girls
  • He watched two girls urinating
  • He was propositioned by a soldier
  • He committed voyeurism at the Magazine Wall
  • Nothing happened at all—only guilty thoughts

The recurring motif is 3-2-1: three soldiers, two girls, one cad/HCE.

"Hesitency"​

HCE's stammer is signaled by the word "hesitency"—deliberately misspelled throughout the book. This references the historical forger Richard Pigott, whose misspelling of "hesitancy" exposed his forgery of letters implicating Charles Stewart Parnell in the Phoenix Park murders.

HCE's guilt, like Parnell's alleged guilt, may be manufactured—but the hesitation reveals something.

Key Themes​

1. Original Sin​

Phoenix Park is Eden. HCE's encounter with the cad rehearses Adam's fall. Whether anything happened is less important than the guilt that now attaches to him.

2. The Power of Rumor​

An innocent question becomes an accusation. A denial becomes a confession. A rumor becomes a ballad. Public perception creates reality.

3. The Cad as Double​

The cad may be HCE's own alter ego—a future or past version of himself. The encounter "rehearses the same encounter HCE had ages ago."

4. Parnell​

Ireland's "uncrowned king," destroyed by scandal and rumor, haunts this chapter. HCE is Parnell is every fallen leader.

Notable Passages​

The Meeting (pp. 35–36)​

HCE encounters the cad, who "with a quiquiquock... accosted him."

The Stammering Defense (p. 36)​

HCE's unprompted denial reveals his guilt through "hesitency."

The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly (pp. 44–47)​

"Have you heard of one Humpty Dumpty / How he fell with a roll and a rumble..."

The ballad transforms HCE into a figure of public mockery—"Persse O'Reilly" puns on French perce-oreille (earwig), linking to "Earwicker."

The Recurring Numbers​

The pattern 3-2-1 appears throughout the Wake:

  • 3 soldiers — Witnesses or accusers
  • 2 girls — Objects of voyeurism or temptation
  • 1 cad/HCE — The accused

This configuration echoes through every version of the scandal.

Characters in This Chapter​

CharacterAppears AsRole
HCEVarious namesThe guilty dreamer
The CadHimselfInnocent questioner / double
Cad's wifeHerselfSpreads the rumor
The PriestHimselfSpreads it further
HostyHimselfComposes the ballad

Parnell and the Phoenix Park Murders​

In 1882, the Chief Secretary for Ireland and his Under-Secretary were murdered in Phoenix Park by Irish nationalist assassins. Parnell was falsely implicated through forged letters—later exposed when forger Richard Pigott misspelled "hesitancy."

Joyce layers this history onto HCE's scandal:

  • Phoenix Park as crime scene
  • False accusation through rumor
  • Destruction of a leader through public shame
  • The telling detail of "hesitency"

Audio Resources​

ResourceNotes
One Little Goat Chapter 2Video with subtitles
Patrick Healy readingComplete audio
Waywords and MeansignsMusical settings

Reading Tips​

  1. Track the rumor's spread — Notice how the story transforms as it passes from person to person
  2. Watch for 3-2-1 — The soldiers, girls, and cad will recur
  3. Note the hesitation — HCE's stammer signals his guilt
  4. Read the ballad aloud — "Persse O'Reilly" is meant to be sung

Further Reading​

  • Campbell & Robinson, A Skeleton Key, Chapter 2 commentary
  • McHugh, Annotations to Finnegans Wake, pages 30–47
  • FWEET — Search "30.01" onward

See Also​