The River as Time

Finnegans Wake

This flow traces water as a motif through which the novel figures memory, change, loss, and recurrent return.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Opening Current The Opening Current from "Finnegans Wake". The Opening Current A river begins in motion The book starts with a flowing river word that returns toward an earlier point.

The Opening Current from "Finnegans Wake". The Opening Current A river begins in motion The book starts with a flowing river word that returns toward an earlier point.

The Opening Current A river begins in motion The book starts with a flowing river word that returns toward an earlier point. Time refuses a straight line Water introduces the possibility that endings can circle back into beginnings.

Land Remembers Water Land Remembers Water from "Finnegans Wake". Land Remembers Water Rivers shape the setting The narrative ties streams, banks, fords, and buried ground to its historical scenes.

Land Remembers Water from "Finnegans Wake". Land Remembers Water Rivers shape the setting The narrative ties streams, banks, fords, and buried ground to its historical scenes.

Land Remembers Water Rivers shape the setting The narrative ties streams, banks, fords, and buried ground to its historical scenes. Geography stores memory Water leaves traces that let the present carry earlier lives.

Anna Livia Becomes River Anna Livia Becomes River from "Finnegans Wake". Anna Livia Becomes River A woman's life flows Anna Livia's identity merges with the movement of water and the places through which it runs.

Anna Livia Becomes River from "Finnegans Wake". Anna Livia Becomes River A woman's life flows Anna Livia's identity merges with the movement of water and the places through which it runs.

Anna Livia Becomes River A woman's life flows Anna Livia's identity merges with the movement of water and the places through which it runs. Time becomes personal The river carries family memory and intimate experience together.

The Washerwomen Hear the Water

The Washerwomen Hear the Water Voices fade toward the current The two speakers approach the river's edge as daylight and memory diminish. Water takes over narration The current continues after the voices can no longer hold their conversation.

The River Returns to the Beginning

The River Returns to the Beginning An ending flows onward The last line returns the reader toward the opening movement of the book. Time becomes recurrent The river symbolizes a story that can continue through change rather than terminate.

At the first sentence

During the mound and landscape passages

During Anna Livia's long monologue

Near the close of the washerwomen's scene

At the final sentence