[Vwoolf] For Agatha Christie fans

[Adolphe Haberer]

Dear all,
I remember spending a lot of time wondering about Bowley's "right arm
resting on the boss of his back" when I translated *Jacob's Room* for
Gallimard. The French "bosse" would have made him a hunchback, and his
"bosse" would have been placed so high in his back that it would have
implied a painful rather than a restful position. So I finally opted for
"protubérance", leaving the French reader with the same sense of
uncertainty and puzzlement as the English.
As for the Albany, I believe it was a residence for (moneyed) gentlemen
rather than for bachelors with possible gay leanings. Palmerston, Byron and
Gladstone are known to have lived there, and closer to the end of the 30's,
Harold Nicolson and Aldous Huxley.
With best wishes to all,
Ado Haberer
==
Adolphe Haberer
Professeur émérite à l'Université Lyon 2
1 route de Saint-Antoine
69380 Chazay d'Azergues
ado at haberer.fr


Le mar. 21 avr. 2020 à 13:48, Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf <
vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> a écrit :

> A very impressive analysis!
>
> Stuart
>
> *From:* Jeremy Hawthorn via Vwoolf
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:00 AM
> *To:* vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Vwoolf] For Agatha Christie fans
>
>
> This is a puzzle. Sarah H is correct that the only part of one's own back
> on which it is restful to hold one's own arm is the small of the back. The
> problem with this is that all the definitions of "boss" as related to a
> part of the human back that I have found, including the original OED, use
> words such as "bump" or "protuberance," and the small of the back is the
> part furthest in, rather than sticking out. Moreover you have to *hold*
> your arm against the small of the back; you cannot *rest* it there.
>
> There is another possibility . . . the buttocks. They definitely protrude,
> and it is just about possible to rest one's arm against the top of them. My
> instinctive reaction against this is that this might suggest that Woolf is
> making use of a euphemism, and there are few less prudish writers that VW.
> But there is also Piccadilly . . . Isn't there a reference to the poor
> girls in Piccadilly in *Mrs Dalloway*? The area was certainly associated
> with prostitution and sexuality in Woolf's time, and so a half nod in the
> direction of the buttocks might not be inappropriate. Why, after all, does
> Woolf have Mr Bowley walk down just this London street? And then there is
> the reference to Mr Bowley's liking for young people . . . and his
> indulgence in wicked gossip.
>
> Bowley lives in The Albany - which provided apartments for bachelors.  In
> other words, there are various hints in the text suggesting that Mr Bowley
> is gay. You don't have to be gay to rest your arm on your buttocks, of
> course, but if Woolf was in disguise mode when dealing with this character
> it might explain this particular reference. There is in addition an almost
> total lack of hits for "the boss of the / his / her back" on Google Books
> and LiteratureOnline.
>
> Jeremy H
>
>
> On 21.04.2020 09:57, Sarah M. Hall via Vwoolf wrote:
>
> I'd say the 'small' of his back (is this just a UK term?), i.e. near the
> bottom of the spine, which might be regarded as the centre of the body.
> Like a ceiling boss in architecture, except that in most people there's no
> protuberance. If you put your arm behind your back at (approx) a right
> angle, the small of your back is where it would rest. Any other position is
> not restful.
>
> This is my favourite opening sequence. A real modernist work of art, from
> the Art Deco pendant turning into half a moustache, fanning out into the
> Cubist images of Poirot, the train and plane, with what looks like
> Battersea Power Station in the background, the tools of Poirot's trade
> (magnifying glass and smoking gun), the fan spotlight echoing the upright
> fan earlier on, more Cubist images, and Poirot walking away 'with his
> [left] arm resting on the boss of his back'. Superlative.
>
> Not an 'authoritative answer', but if Poirot does it, that's good enough
> for me.
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, 21 April 2020, 08:33:29 BST, Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf
> mailto:vwoolf at lists.osu.edu wrote:
>
>
> “Bowley who liked young people and walked down Piccadilly with his right
> arm resting on the boss of his back.” (“Jacob’s Room”, ch. xiii)
>
> What does “boss” mean here?  Can anyone provide an authoritative answer?
>
>
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