p. 323
"'A man with a superiority complexion...'"
"'Recapitalize.'"
"'In puncture of fact...'"
"'I make no blasfuming...'"
p. 326
"...to make amendments.'"
And that brings us to the end of "Territory." Next, both in the van Rijn saga and in the Technic History, is Satan's World which I have reread relatively recently but we might find something new when rereading while asking: how is van Rijn presented to the readers and perceived by other characters?
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
We certainly see Joyce Davisson's perceptions of Nicholas van Rijn changing in "Territory." Beginning with "detestable old oaf"! As the story advances Joyce's view of Old Nick softens and changes to one of admiration and respect. The most amusing example of that was this: "Nick had so many good qualities; if only he could overcome that vulgarity! But he had had a hard life, poor thing. No one had ever really taken him in hand..." That's enough to make me howl with laughter, the idea of a "poor" Nicholas van Rijn needing to be firmly "taken in hand"!
And I found this bit of dialogue, that you mentioned in an earlier combox:
"Really!" She drew herself up, hot in the face. "You're impossible!"
"No. Just improbable..."
And at the end of "Territory" we see Joyce reflecting: "...he really was a very interesting person..."
Sean
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