Faulkner: bleached

[Marius Hancu]

Hello:

---
... he stood too while the strong hard immobile flow of the pines
bleached the sweat from his body ...

Intruder in the Dust
William Faulkner
---

"bleached": washed out??

Thanks.
--
Marius Hancu

[Odysseus]

In article
<a0deafa3-e8ea-4e0e...@n11g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>,

Marius Hancu <marius...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello:
>
> ---
> ... he stood too while the strong hard immobile flow of the pines
> bleached the sweat from his body ...
>
> Intruder in the Dust
> William Faulkner
> ---
>
> "bleached": washed out??

I'm having trouble with the "flow of the pines"; I'd like to see more of
the sentence, as what's there isn't making a lot of sense to me. Since
its object is a liquid, "leached" seems more likely: typo? malapropism?
wordplay? The effect of sunlight on materials is described as
"bleaching", which is conceivably extendable to "drying". But if I knew
what was flowing -- if it's the pines themselves, indeed fairly strong &
hard and quite immobile things, in what sense they could be pictured as
doing so -- the proverbial penny might drop.

--
Odysseus

[Marius Hancu]

On May 24, 10:58 pm, Odysseus <odysseus1479...@yahoo-dot.ca> wrote:
> In article
> <a0deafa3-e8ea-4e0e-9447-3c0d58864...@n11g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>,

>  Marius Hancu <marius.ha...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello:
>
> > ---
> > ... he stood too while the strong hard immobile flow of the pines
> > bleached  the sweat from his body ...
>
> > Intruder in the Dust
> > William Faulkner
> > ---
>
> > "bleached": washed out??
>
> I'm having trouble with the "flow of the pines"; I'd like to see more of
> the sentence, as what's there isn't making a lot of sense to me. Since
> its object is a liquid, "leached" seems more likely: typo? malapropism?
> wordplay? The effect of sunlight on materials is described as
> "bleaching", which is conceivably extendable to "drying". But if I knew
> what was flowing -- if it's the pines themselves, indeed fairly strong &
> hard and quite immobile things, in what sense they could be pictured as
> doing so -- the proverbial penny might drop.

There's a wind/breeze blowing through the pines, touching him ...

"the strong constant smell of pines was coming down on them with no
wind behind it yet firm and hard as a hand almost, palpable against
the moving body as water would have been"

"bleach": wash out
is indicated in M-W U as one of the meanings,
but I haven't heard of it, so I just wanted a confirmation.

Thanks.
--
Marius Hancu

[Mike L]

"Wash out" in a bleachy context refers to cloth losing its colour
during washing. "That black T-shirt is really washed out: it's gone
grey." "Oh dear! That stain won't wash out." "Are you feeling OK?" -
"Well, I feel a bit washed out." Etc

--
Mike.

[Whiskers]

<clicketty click>

<http://www.cntuw.com/read-htm-tid-171479.html> "Intruder in the Dust";
about 92% of the way down a very long page!

A little earlier,

start quote:

“It’ll be the only fresh one,” he said. “Lucas said there hasn’t been a
burying here since last winter.”

“Yes,” Miss Habersham said. “The flowers too. Aleck Sander’s already found
it.” But to make sure (he thought quietly, he didn’t know to whom: I’m
going to make a heap more mistakes but dont let this be one of them.) he
hooded the flashlight in his wadded handkerchief so that one thin rapid
pencil touched for a second the raw mound with its meagre scattering of
wreaths and bouquets and even single blooms and then for another second the
headstone adjacent to it, long enough to read the engraved name: Amanda
Workitt wife of N. B. Forrest Gowrie 1878 1926 then snapped it off and
again the darkness came in and the strong scent of the pines and they stood
for a moment beside the raw mound, doing nothing at all. “I hate this,”
Miss Habersham said.

end quote

Three characters are opening a grave, at night; "Miss Habersham", "Aleck
Sander" and "him".

Aleck Sander and "him" are in the hole digging.

start quote

spading again he heard the sudden thud of wood on wood, then Aleck Sander
said sharply:

“Go on. Get out of here and gimme room:” and flung the board up and out and
took, jerked the shovel from his hands and he climbed out of the pit and
even as he stooped groping Miss Habersham handed him the coiled tie-rope.

“The flashlight too,” he said and she handed him that and he stood too

while the strong hard immobile flow of the pines bleached the sweat from

his body until his wet shirt felt cold on his flesh and invisible below him
in the pit the shovel rasped and scraped on wood, and stooping and hooding
the light again he flashed it downward upon the unpainted lid of the pine
box and switched it off.

end quote

Faulkner's narrative here is so rapid that he's failing to distinguish
adequately between characters, which is confusing, but we seem to have the
un-named "him" climbing out of the hole while Aleck Sander stays behind to
investigate. So "him" is now "standing too", ie awaiting developments or
further orders, and the pine-scented breeze cools him. The writer's choice
of words at this point seems to descend into confusion and bewilderment,
which is perhaps exactly the feeling he wants to impart.

This is informal, stream of consciousness, impressionistic, writing.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Marius Hancu]

On May 27, 8:56 am, Whiskers <catwhee...@operamail.com> wrote:

> On 2013-05-25, Odysseus <odysseus1479...@yahoo-dot.ca> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > In article
> > <a0deafa3-e8ea-4e0e-9447-3c0d58864...@n11g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>,

> hooded the flashlight inhiswadded handkerchief so that one thin rapid

> pencil touched for a second the raw mound with its meagre scattering of
> wreaths and bouquets and even single blooms and then for another second the
> headstone adjacent to it, long enough to read the engraved name: Amanda
> Workitt wife of N. B. Forrest Gowrie 1878 1926 then snapped it off and
> again the darkness came in and the strong scent of the pines and they stood
> for a moment beside the raw mound, doing nothing at all. “I hate this,”
> Miss Habersham said.
>
> end quote
>
> Three characters are opening a grave, at night; "Miss Habersham", "Aleck
> Sander" and "him".
>
> Aleck Sander and "him" are in the hole digging.
>
> start quote
>
> spading again he heard the sudden thud of wood on wood, then Aleck Sander
> said sharply:
>
> “Go on. Get out of here and gimme room:” and flung the board up and out and

> took, jerked the shovel fromhishands and he climbed out of the pit and

> even as he stooped groping Miss Habersham handed him the coiled tie-rope.
>
> “The flashlight too,” he said and she handed him that and he stood too

> while the strong hard immobile flow of the pines bleached thesweatfromhisbodyuntilhiswet shirt felt cold onhisflesh and invisible below him

> in the pit the shovel rasped and scraped on wood, and stooping and hooding
> the light again he flashed it downward upon the unpainted lid of the pine
> box and switched it off.
>
> end quote
>
> Faulkner's narrative here is so rapid that he's failing to distinguish
> adequately between characters, which is confusing, but we seem to have the
> un-named "him" climbing out of the hole while Aleck Sander stays behind to
> investigate.  So "him" is now "standing too", ie awaiting developments or
> further orders, and the pine-scented breeze cools him.  The writer's choice
> of words at this point seems to descend into confusion and bewilderment,
> which is perhaps exactly the feeling he wants to impart.

"Him" is the 17-year-old main character, Charles.

> This is informal, stream of consciousness, impressionistic, writing.

Yes, very much so.

Thanks.
---
Marius Hancu