1929 Market Crash

The 1929 Market Crash receives a brief, retrospective mention in a toast by Jubal Harshaw. It serves as an allusion within a scene of drinking and fellowship, not as a narrated historical event.

The Reference

Jubal proposes that the group have a drink before turning to more serious drinking, then raises his glass with a poetic toast to Italy’s sunshine, “congealed into tears.” He dedicates the drink to “alcoholic brotherhood,” which he calls more suited to the frail human soul than other kinds of brotherhood. The crash itself is not discussed in the passage.

Context and Limits

The mention appears amid a casual exchange involving Duke and Jubal, followed by brief responses of “Health” and “Cheers.” The evidence establishes no further detail about the crash, its consequences, or a connection between it and the characters’ circumstances; its function here is only as part of the wider historical frame evoked in conversation.