Skip to main content

The Letter

The Letter is one of Finnegans Wake's central mysteries—a document written by ALP in defense of HCE, scratched up by a hen from a midden heap, analyzed by scholars, never delivered. It may be the Wake itself.

The Basic Story​

  1. ALP writes a letter defending her husband HCE
  2. A hen (Biddy Doran) scratches it up from a garbage heap
  3. Scholars analyze it endlessly
  4. It never arrives at its destination
  5. It may be the book we're reading

The Hen's Discovery​

In I.5, a hen scratches up the letter:

"Lead, kindly fowl!" (p. 112)

The hen is:

  • Biddy Doran: A named character
  • ALP herself: In animal form
  • The reader: Scratching for meaning
  • Joyce: Recovering the past

The midden heap (garbage pile) represents:

  • The past buried and forgotten
  • History as refuse
  • The unconscious
  • Dublin's layers of civilization

Chapter I.5: The Mamafesta​

Chapter I.5 is devoted to analyzing the letter:

"The Mamafesta of ALP"​

The chapter title puns on:

  • Manifesta: A public declaration
  • Mama: Mother
  • Festa: Festival/celebration

The Analysis​

Scholars examine:

  • The envelope and its marks
  • The handwriting
  • The watermarks
  • The content (never fully quoted)
  • The meaning (never determined)

The Parody​

Joyce parodies:

  • Academic literary criticism
  • Biblical scholarship
  • Forensic analysis
  • His own future critics

What Does the Letter Say?​

The letter's content is never fully revealed. Fragments suggest:

Possible Contents​

  • A defense of HCE against accusations
  • An account of the Phoenix Park incident
  • A love letter from wife to husband
  • A mother's testament to her children
  • The story of Dublin/Ireland

Key Fragment (p. 111)​

"Dear. And we go on to Drury... Of Doublganger... Sternly repub..."

The letter is always interrupted, fragmentary, uncertain.

The Letter as the Wake​

The letter may be Finnegans Wake itself:

LetterWake
Written by a womanALP's voice dominates
Defends a fallen manHCE throughout
Found in garbageRecovered from obscurity
Analyzed endlesslyScholarship industry
Never fully understoodPerpetually mysterious
CircularBegins where it ends

Evidence​

"a proteiform graph... a polyhedron of scripture" (p. 107)

This describes both the letter and the Wake.

The Letter Never Arrives​

A crucial aspect: the letter never reaches its destination:

  • It is found, not delivered
  • It is analyzed, not read
  • It is discussed, not understood
  • It is everywhere and nowhere

This connects to:

  • Lacan's "The Purloined Letter" (letters always arrive)
  • Derrida's "The Post Card" (letters never arrive)
  • The impossibility of full communication

Who Wrote It?​

ALP as Author​

The letter is attributed to ALP:

  • She defends her husband
  • She speaks for the family
  • She writes in "feminine" style

Shem as Scribe​

But Shem may have written it:

  • He is "the Penman"
  • He writes on his own body (I.7)
  • He transcribes ALP's words

The Collaboration​

Perhaps:

  • ALP dictates
  • Shem writes
  • The letter is their joint creation
  • Like Joyce and Nora?

The Envelope​

The letter's envelope receives detailed attention:

Marks and Stains​

  • Tea stains
  • Lipstick marks
  • Mysterious symbols
  • Signs of handling

The Address​

"To the Doublend Deed..."

The address is unclear, suggesting:

  • Dublin/Double
  • The dead/deed
  • Duplicity
  • The reader

Letter and Litter​

Joyce puns constantly on letter/litter:

  • The letter is found in litter (garbage)
  • Letters (alphabet) form litter (text)
  • Literature comes from litter
  • The sacred emerges from refuse

"The letter! The litter!" (p. 93)

The Letter Through the Book​

The letter appears throughout:

ChapterAppearance
I.5Main analysis
I.1First hints
II.2In the margins
III.3Through Yawn
IVALP's final word

It is never absent, never complete.

Scholarly Parody​

Joyce anticipates his critics:

Academic Analysis​

The Wake parodies:

  • Source hunting
  • Biographical criticism
  • Textual scholarship
  • Interpretive confidence

The Joke​

Scholars analyzing the letter in I.5 are us—future readers trying to decode the Wake.

The Letter and Communication​

The letter raises questions about communication:

Can Meaning Be Transmitted?​

  • The letter has meaning
  • It is written to be read
  • But it never arrives
  • Is communication possible?

The Postal Principle​

  • Writing requires absence
  • The sender and receiver are separated
  • Meaning drifts in transit
  • The letter is always "post"

Reading the Letter​

Tips​

  1. Watch for postal imagery — Letters, mail, delivery, stamps
  2. Note the fragments — Quotations are always partial
  3. See yourself — You are the scholar in I.5
  4. Accept mystery — The letter resists full disclosure

Key Passages​

  • I.5 (pp. 104–125): The full analysis chapter
  • p. 93: "The letter! The litter!"
  • p. 111: The fragment quoted
  • IV: ALP's final "letter" to HCE

Further Reading​

  • Jacques Derrida, The Post Card
  • Margot Norris, The Decentered Universe of Finnegans Wake
  • FWEET — Search "letter" appearances

See Also​