Re: Instructions for the Morphology Online Seminar - Text fragment -- English Morphology Online Seminars

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Subject: Re: Instructions for the Morphology Online Seminar - Text fragment

Author:
André Carvalho

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Date Posted: 05:06:17 10/01/09 Thu
In reply to: Ricardo 's message, "Instructions for the Morphology Online Seminar" on 08:10:11 09/28/09 Mon

Hi folks, this is a fragment of Frank O'Connor's My Oedipus Complex.

My Oedipus Complex
Father was in the army all through the war – the first war, I mean – so, up to the age of five, I never saw much of him, and what I saw did not worry me. Sometimes I woke and there was a big figure in khaki peering down at me in the candlelight. Sometimes in the early morning I heard the slamming of the front door and the clatter of nailed boots down the cobbles of the lane. These were Father’s entrances and exits. Like Santa Claus he came and went mysteriously.
In fact, I rather liked his visits, though it was an uncomfortable squeeze between Mother and him when I got into the big bed in the early morning. He smoked, which gave him a pleasant musty smell, and shaved, an operation of astounding interest. Each time he left a trail of souvenirs – model tanks and Gurkha knives with handles made of bullet cases, and German helmets and cap badges and button sticks, and all sorts of military equipment – carefully stowed away in a long box on top of the wardrobe, in case they ever came in handy. There was a bit of the magpie about Father; he expected everything to come in handy. When his back was turned, Mother let me get a chair and rummage through his treasures. She didn’t seem to think so highly of them as he did.
The war was the most peaceful period of my life. The window of my attic faced southeast. My mother had curtained it, but that had small effect. I always woke with the first light and, with all the responsibilities of the previous day melted, feeling myself rather like the sun, ready to illumine and rejoice. Life never seemed so simple and clear and full of possibilities as then. I put my feet out from under the clothes – I called them Mrs. Left and Mrs. Right – and invented dramatic situations for them in which they discussed the problems of the day. At least Mrs. Right did; she was very demonstrative, but I hadn’t the same control of Mrs. Left, so she mostly contented herself with nodding agreement.
They discussed what Mother and I should do during the day, what Santa Claus should give a fellow for Christmas, and what steps should be taken to brighten the home. There was that little matter of the baby, for instance…

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Re: Instructions for the Morphology Online Seminar	Claudia Jardim	05:28:11 10/01/09 Thu

Re: Instructions for the Morphology Online Seminar	André Carvalho	06:52:28 10/01/09 Thu