Mina Loy - Stories and Essays of Mina Loy

In the margin next to “ ‘After she got rid of the baby’ ” reads “OK”— ed . “ ‘all night, every night, dragging’ ” was “ ‘all night, dragging’ ”

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“projected as it were in television” was “projected in television”

“clapboard; in her aerial colouring, a place” was “clapboard; a place”

“alcohol, with Cassandra” was “alcohol, Cassandra”

“ ‘And they actually had’ ” was “ ‘And they had’ ”

Above “ ‘mix with decent people’ ” reads: “insert all the Mops friends here or previously?” —ed.

Another available variant of “ ‘after that low crowd. . like them — ’ ” is “ ‘She’ll never again be able to mix with decent people. After those common — —’ ” —ed.

After “ ‘readapted’ ” reads:

Ira’s scream of resentment — paralysed the partition— “the dirty, the mean — hypocritical cad — that’s the low- est thing I ever heard — absolutely the lowest — —”

“Cassandra was not speaking of the Moppets — you know she loves to chat with grocers’ wives and bell hops — scrub women; anyone, she used to spend half her time that way—” Mrs. Nome repaired forgetting, per- haps subconsciously indicted, she had not used that kin- dling word —

“The Moppets are simple, jolly people — and whatever you may see in her, Ma Mop is fundamentally kind.”

III.

The heading “Mrs. Nome” is Loy’s own; a paragraph above this heading reads:

The Agony of the Partition

The blonde and the baroness sipped their tea. In sparse phrases they discussed “men”; like icebergs scanning the horizon for something to collide with. Touched on abor- tion with a precision of surgical instruments. Frequent as their lips to their cups, the word “rich” hissed from one to other on the air ultimatum in acquiescence—

After “vindicatory” reads “?”— ed.

“occasional effusion” reads “occasionly effusion” —ed.

“in an angelic” was “in angelic”

“fastidiously selected the” was “fastidiously the”

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“Mrs. Nome perhaps” reads “Mrs. Nome (bowed her soul) perhaps”—above “(bowed her soul)” reads: “somewhere else” —ed.

“plausibly suspected”—“suspected” is unclear —ed.

“fleshly bond between mother” reads “fleshly bond (between) of? mother” —ed.

“This, she had modified,” reads “ ‘This, she had modified’ ” —ed.

Above “the young, withholding” reads “OK bits. Mrs Nome.” —ed. After “disgust?” reads “x apropos — cf [ possibly “of”] some former observation” —ed.

“ ‘pregnant’—to her ” reads “ ‘pregnant’—To her ” —ed.

“Mrs. Nome, repudiated mother” was “Mrs. Nome, the repudiated mother”

“in an amazed agony” was “in agony” and “in amazement”

“her the conceptual” was “her conceptual”

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“Mop seemed to be discreetly” was “Mop seemed always to dis- creetly”

“bed-pan” was “bed”

“she might carry” was “she might be carrying”

After “offertory” reads “?” —ed.

“biological gods” was “sly gods”

“hilariously angry; each, although obviously at odds, fully” reads “hi- lariously angry, each, although obviously, at odds, fully” —ed.

“Nome wondered, was this” reads “Nome wondered ‘was this” —ed.

After “affection” a long line is drawn across the page —ed.

After “ideological” reads “?” —ed.

“gloriously all pernicious” was “gloriously pernicious”

After “embroilment” reads “?” —ed.

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“ ‘The Most Beautiful’ ” was “ ‘the most beautiful’ ”

After “ ‘brought about’ ” reads, on the next line, “ Wraith of Love” —ed.

Another draft fragment reads:

If only I could get rid of my mother

[long line across page ]

But however melted in sorrow, it would seem the parti- tion still remained, it must still resist.

Iva Cooper had not had her say, because “All that was low enough — but this disgraceful affair with Martha this is too much. She’s crazy to get rid of you — so that com- mon girl with her stub neck, her spotty face can come and live here. I’m [her] Cassy’s room-mate aren’t I? I wouldn’t stay a minute with the [ridiculous] filthy creature. Cassy finds great qualities in her — hidden quali- ties, to you or me they would not be evident — qualities so rare she has to spend [the] her nights with her to enjoy them.

You’ve seen the disgusting way they lie all over each other on the divan, from 8.oc in the evening until 3 in the morning — and then when we have left for home, how Cassy suddenly runs back—

[along margin of same page ] But — moaned the partition I’d taken a room by myself — and Cassie implored me to forgo the deposit — she wanted me here with her — she [wanted] longed for the chance to make up to me for her former unkindness— A staccato “yes”—pinged upon that partition — she wanted your fifty dollars—

The next page includes:

“Oh I’m sure there’s nothing lesbian in it” — — interfered the partition, faintly serene — — “Naturally, you have to pretend, being her mother, I quite understand that — losing the man you love” mused the partition [faintly serene] “is a queer death, you die away with him — yet [you] continue to be torn by the pain that has slain you — your life, which was his he has taken with him — the only illusion [for recovering] of resuming it, is to cling to those oth- ers who knew him also, talking about him reconstructs him, retrieves a little of his, your, living breath — — when Martha and Cassandra whisper together for to us so long long hours on that conferential sofa — they are only cooperating with Time in their protracted healing — — that sofa is [the] a salvage rock of reminiscence for [their] their love’s ship-wreck. .” [However] All the same Mop insists that Martha had begun to get over Gurney — but her confidences with Cassandra have, awfully, revived it — — –

THE CROCODILE WITHOUT ANY TAIL

(6:154)

Burke claims that “The Crocodile without any Tail” was written in 1926, when Loy’s youngest child, Jemima Fabienne Cravan Lloyd, was seven. Loy devised narratives to teach her daughter languages; stories were first told in French, and then repeated in English ( BM 372–73).

“The Crocodile without any Tail” is a typed manuscript with numbered pages; pages one and three have two identical copies. Some corrections are made throughout, but most are indecipherable, as they are blacked out with type. Variations in spelling have been edited by relying on the most prominent usage; for instance, “Mamma” is “mamma” at the outset, while “the crocodile” is “the Crocodile” by the end of the text. “School master” and “singing master” are both hyphenated and not; the hyphens have been dropped here.

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“grass” was likely “flowers”

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“ ‘to attach a Christmas tree’ ” reads “ ‘to attach a Xmas tree’ ” —ed.

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“eat its porridge” was “eat hi”

“Mr. and Mrs.” reads “Mr and Mrs” —ed.

“Happy Go Lucky” was “Happy go Lucky”

“which to live, and a large” reads “which to live. and” —ed.

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“began to rain. The” reads “began to rain, the” —ed.