Mina Loy - Stories and Essays of Mina Loy

Evidence that Loy planned “The Library” exists in another folder in her papers, where a torn sheet bears the heading “ Sphinx .” followed by a list that includes “Women— / Sex / Sin. Novels etc. / Lawrence / Joyce / D’Annunzio. / Huxley— / Frank Harris”; beneath this list reads: “Look up— / Sherwood Anderson / — Waldo Franck [ sic ]—” (7:188). Fragments in the “The Library of the Sphinx.” folder suggest that Loy intended to write more about the American writers Anderson (1876–1941) and Frank (1889–1967). As numbered by Loy, pages five to fourteen of “The Library of the Sphinx.” remain; the last, incomplete portion of the handwritten script is included at the end of the editorial notes.

PAGE 253

“Notwithstanding that the secret” was “Notwithstanding the secret”—“notwithstanding” has been altered, and is not entirely clear — it may read, “Notwithstated”— ed .

“assumption that the secret” was “assumption of the elucida so- lution of the”

“by each of us” was “by everyone of us”

“us and therefore need never be” was “us but is not allowed to be”

“asked the sphinx” was “said the sphinx”

After “rose—” reads two long dashes, like an extended “=”— ed.

“Impossible” was “But”

“been remarked” was “been noti”

PAGE 254

“misapprehension” was “assumption” and “delusion”

“that the other women” was “that every other women”

“ ‘Woman’ ” was “ ‘But woman’ ”

After “nothing” was:

I dared not lose my litera-

I am about to speak—

At last I speak—

said the sphinx

[‘They’] ‘We’ are no longer interested — they have found their solution—

of my secret—?

Jazz — said the sphinxes — –

to keep on jumpin’!”

In the margin alongside the above, Loy directs herself, “insert somewhere else,” and this she does: this passage is almost iden- tical to part of the dialogue in “Lady Asterisk.”— ed .

“lo-o-o-vely” was “lo-oo-o-vely”

Before “Even James Joyce” reads the title: “ I. The library of the Sphinx .”

All honorifics—“Mr. and Mrs. Bloom”—read “Mr and Mrs” in the text— ed .

“ ‘ “would he give me” if I let him “retire” on my “bases” ’ ” reads “ “would he give me” / ‘if I let him “retire” on my ‘bases” ’ ” —ed.

“interference” was “reason,” “procrastination,” and then “reason”

“to account for” was “for”

“suggestion” was “act” and “offer”

“suggestion — at” was “suggestion — on”

“recollect” was “You recollect”

“Let us make the absolute descent” was “Let us descend”

“be positively shredded ” was “be shredded ”

“That little” was “That nasty”

“the geographical aspect” was “the ascent”

“of the Venusberg” was “of Vesuvius”

“the spasimal larva” was “the spasmodic. He”

PAGE 255

“So he absolves” was “He absolves”

“seventh heaven with” was “seventh with”

“on shrugging at” was “when he looking up”—“at” is unclear and may be “off”— ed .

“to scrubby-looking” was “to ugly scrubby-looking men the flesh shrinks from”

“nearest to defining” was “nearest to explore”

“psychic experiences” was “psychic introspection”

After “only book” was “(a censored book — that has given the flesh” “the flesh with a” reads “the flesh a”— ed .

“or the virile male” was “or made the virile male”

“returns to” was “resorts to”

“derive no satisfaction” was “find no compensation for”

“novels, attempting to” was “novels to”

PAGE 256

“The primary phenomenon” was “The first phenomenon”

“male as regards his intimate relation with the female” was “male as regards the female”

“relation with the female” reads “relation the female”— ed .

“spoken a word” was “made a sign”

“best cantharide” was “best natural cantharide”

“depth of — is disgust” was “depth of — reason”

“maiden’s lack” was “maiden’s unr”

“response to satisfy” reads “response satisfy”— ed .

“revivifying” was “healthy”

“may we ask” was “may we asked”

“authors live?” was “authors life?”

“daily life?” was “daily life where the”

“nunnery — ” reads “nunnery. — ”—ed.

“apologetic man” was “apologetic type”

“heroes of Aldous Huxley” was “heroes of (chrome yellow man)”

PAGE 257

“erotic discomfort” was “social discomfort”

“ ‘themselves go’ ” was “ ‘theirself go’ ”

“Also, in the soggy” was “Also, the soggy”

“of T.S. Eliot is embedded” was “of T.S. Eliot’s poetry”—“T.S.” was “W”

Next to the material on Eliot, along the margin, Loy writes: “The Case of Cupid and Cupid versus Venus and Venus.”— ed .

The sentence beginning “Mr. Eliot has observed” reads “Mr. Eliot has observed the typist with the same disrespectfully acute ray of observation that turning on classism and pessimism alike, — with which he observed her combinations drying on the roof.”— ed .

“a uniform” was “an equal”

“Practically the whole” was “The whole”

“psychological literature written by men might” was “psychologi-cal literature might”

“The episode of” was “The scene of”

“Exceptionally there is” was “There is”

PAGE 258

“also monuments to” was “also those monumental traditional monuments”

“in the sense” was “in the French sense”

“for instance: the” reads “for instance, The”— ed .

“become fictitious” was “become tradition”

“should he omit. . desert him—” is a later addition

“a literary monument” was “a monument”

“And there is no. . de joie ” is a later addition

“the chambers of ‘joy’ ” was “the amorous chamber”

“everybody that is” was “everybody has”

“Debrett’s” is unclear— ed .

“her inevitable point of view” was “her point of view”

“disease, being threatened into supporting” was “disease, supporting”

Under “a maquereau” reads “a man”—ed.

PAGE 259

“night life of the metropolis” was “night life another”

“to notice—” reads “to notice—.”— ed .

“When he comes to himself” was “Rest assured that when he comes to himself”

“he has erotically administered” was “he has administered”

“ fille de joie ” reads “ ‘fille de joie’ ”— ed .

After “ fille de joie ” was the heading “ Sphinxes in Tête à tête .”

“Alas the exercise” was “Alas exercise”

“blown off does not” was “blown off will”

After “does not” and largely crossed through is the beginning of the next instalment in Loy’s “The Library of the Sphinx.” It reads as follows:

Sphinxes in Tête à tête .

The irate husband ordered her to “go [to the doctor] and find out what is the matter with you—”

Doctor — — I do not enjoy the er marital — er — — The doctor.

No nice woman, my dear lady ever enjoys it.

Blessed is the peace-maker. For he does the best he can. The fast married woman that horrified the hotel—“[I have many lovers — although] I cannot enjoy ‘it’—you see, it gives me inflammation of the womb — — yet I have so many lovers because — I don’t know why—