ters of the channel. The pluterperfect imperturbability of the department of agriculture. Pardoned a classical allusion. Cassandra. By a woman who was no better than she should be. To come to the point at issue.
- I don't mince words, do I? Mr Deasy asked as Stephen read on. (Joyce 32-33)
As the reader soon notes in Joyce's opus, narrative and thought blend seamlessly, recreating the "stream of consciousness" in human existence - where objective reality and subjective perception do not have such a hardfast dividing line as scientists would have us believe. History and the present intermingle as well - as exemplified in the preceding excerpt - wherein Dedalus' skimming through of Deasy's hoof and mouth disease paper keeps sliding into the history of Ireland's occupation. Perhaps the allusions are in the article, perhaps not: important is the manner in which Dedalus' perceives the words before his eyes and the thoughts provoked, not just the concrete example.
In Petersburg, Andrei Bely is twice as blatant about his refusal to accept cleancut divisions between perception and reality. History and the present are constantly one. In this excerpt, a Russian politician has just returned from a mission to Tokyo:
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