Story: "Cat" (7) Satirical Sentences

When I first read Qian Zhongshu's story "Cat" in English translation, I was inspired to write a paper that would tackle the satire present in the multilingual sentences. At the time I had just finished How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Fish, and wanted to write criticism in his vein. Just looking over notes I posted to this blog, I can see several sentences that will work well:

My friend, earlier this morning

1. The passage describing how the cat, "Taoqi," got its name. Yes, I need to narrow it down to a single sentence. (post 1) This shows the tradition as a source of play, and also introduces the central gesture of refinement as a layer over coarseness
2. Aimo's character, which reflects her American socialization through a pun on Bill. This shows off an implied reader. 她受過美國式的教育，養成一种逢人叫小名以表親昵的習气，就是見了莎士比亞的面，她也會叫他bill，何況貓呢？Perhaps Aimo symbolizes the communality that is continuing to fail at the hands of self-centered men, as we see in sentences on the United Nations. Also we might remember the transformation of Beiping into a city of relics which have value as signs of refinement, flocked to by self-deceiving Chinese of all types. (post 1)
3. Jianhou's father represents a relics attitude towards other cultures: “吃中國菜，住西洋房子，娶日本老婆，人生無遺憾矣！” (post 1)
4. Aimo's condescension toward her husband -- no multilingual element, exactly, but I just love the comment and love the translation in the Rea volume: “你知道，我這次跨海征東，千里迢迢來受痛苦，無非為你，要討你喜歡。我的臉也就是你的面子。我蒙了眼，又痛又黑暗，你好意思一個人住在外面吃喝玩樂么？你愛我，你得听我的話。你不許跟人到處亂跑。還有，你最貪嘴，可是我進醫院后，你別上中國館子，大菜也別吃，只許頓頓吃日本料理。你答應我不？算你愛我，陪我受苦，我痛的時候心上也有些安慰。吃得坏些，你可以清心寡欲，不至于胡鬧，糟蹋了身子。你個儿不高，吃得太胖了，不好看。你背了我騙我，我會知道，從此不跟你好。” (post 2) The wordplay does come, however, in the sentence that follows, which leaves us with no doubts that Jianhou is a nothing, a zero: 李太太深知缺少這個丈夫不得；仿佛亞刺伯數碼的零號，本身毫無价值，但是沒有它，十百千万都不能成立。因為任何數目背后加個零號便進了一位，所以零號也跟著那數目而意義重大了。(post 2)
5. Two jokes about Jianhou's inability, first, on sitzfleisch, which is perhaps after all not a joke: 頭腦不好，沒有思想，沒有理想；可是大著作有時全不需要好頭腦，只需要好屁股，听鄭須溪說，德國人就把“坐臀”（Sitzfleisch）作為知識分子的必具條件。(post 3)
6. Second, the gout/gout pun, 那時候，這個討厭家伙已算家里的慣客了。他知道自己講究吃，一天帶了初版薩梵冷的名著Physiologiedugout（《口味生理學》）來相送。自己早把法語忘光了，冒失地嚷：“你錯了！我害胃病，不害風痛病，這本講gout的生理學對我毫無用處。”那家伙的笑聲到現在還忘不了。(post 3)
7. Still another joke at Jianhou's expense: 建侯假如生在十六世紀的法國，他這身段的曲線美，不知該使多少女人傾倒愛慕，不拿薪水當他的女書記呢！那時候的漂亮男女，都得把肚子凸出－－法國話好象叫Panserons－－鼓得愈高愈好，跟現代女人的束緊前面腹部而聳起后面臀部，正是相反。建侯算得古之法國美少年，也配得做淘气的榜樣。所以我說老袁倒果為因。