Lissi
June 27th, 2008, 02:58 PM
Hi there everyone! I have a query about the Latin used in Cell. (Just so you know, I study Latin - I'm a bit of a geek about it ^^;;; )
The Raggedy Man / President of Harvard calls Clay, Tom, Alice and Jordan insane. (Or, possibly, enthusiastic, but I doubt that's the intended translation). Here's a quote, it's the best way to get across what I mean:
Tom was on one end of the line. A man had walked to him, a special man, and put a hand over his head. [...]And he'd said, 'Ecce homo - insana.' And the crowd - thousands of them - had roared back, 'DON'T TOUCH!' in a single voice. The man had gone to Clay and repeated this. With his hand above Alice's head the man had said, 'Ecce femina - insana.' Above Jordan, 'Ecce puer - insanus.'
Basically, 'ecce homo/femina/puer - insana/us' means 'Look, man/woman/boy - insane!' That's not a great translation, but you get the idea.
My point is, 'insana' is the feminine form of the adjective; 'insanus' is masculine. King's using the feminine form of the adjective for Tom and Clay, who are clearly male. This could be a mistake. It could be a deliberate mistake, accounting for the fact that most of the phoners probably don't know Latin. It could be an obscure reference to Tom being gay. In which case - why is the same used of Clay?
Does anyone have an explanation for this? I'd love to hear other people's views. Of course, if my Latin is wrong, then correct me, but I'm pretty sure it's not. Anyway, help and opinions are appreciated! ^^
The Raggedy Man / President of Harvard calls Clay, Tom, Alice and Jordan insane. (Or, possibly, enthusiastic, but I doubt that's the intended translation). Here's a quote, it's the best way to get across what I mean:
Tom was on one end of the line. A man had walked to him, a special man, and put a hand over his head. [...]And he'd said, 'Ecce homo - insana.' And the crowd - thousands of them - had roared back, 'DON'T TOUCH!' in a single voice. The man had gone to Clay and repeated this. With his hand above Alice's head the man had said, 'Ecce femina - insana.' Above Jordan, 'Ecce puer - insanus.'
Basically, 'ecce homo/femina/puer - insana/us' means 'Look, man/woman/boy - insane!' That's not a great translation, but you get the idea.
My point is, 'insana' is the feminine form of the adjective; 'insanus' is masculine. King's using the feminine form of the adjective for Tom and Clay, who are clearly male. This could be a mistake. It could be a deliberate mistake, accounting for the fact that most of the phoners probably don't know Latin. It could be an obscure reference to Tom being gay. In which case - why is the same used of Clay?
Does anyone have an explanation for this? I'd love to hear other people's views. Of course, if my Latin is wrong, then correct me, but I'm pretty sure it's not. Anyway, help and opinions are appreciated! ^^