Donna Loren

            On Wednesday after midnight I searched for bedbugs again and found none. That's nice but given the trend, it seems inevitable that in another day or so or a week or a month I will find another. It's weird because this is not really an infestation but it's the most persistent occurrence of occasional bedbugs I've ever experienced. Six years ago after a year and a half of seeing lots of bedbugs almost every day, suddenly they were wiped out pretty fast. This time I just keep seeing them every now and then and it's a wicked tease. 

            I've almost finished translating "Arthur, où t'as mis le corps" (Arthur, Where'd You Put The Corpse?) by Boris Vian. I was stuck this morning on the last line of the penultimate verse. The gang that is now in prison and that killed Arthur are trying to find Arthur's body which disappeared. They have a seance and contact Arthur. They ask where is your body and he says he has a new body. They ask if he has a heart and he says something that sounded like I have two in front and ten in the back. But it turns out he's referring to the card game Belote. So he's saying he has belote and rebelote which means he has the king and queen in the same suit. So it implies that the answer to the question about the afterlife “Do you have a heart?” is “I have the king and queen of hearts.” I worked out the chords for most of “Cuti–réaction” (Skin Prick Reaction) by Serge Gainsbourg. I'm just in the middle of the instrumental and I'll probably have it done on Thursday. 

            I weighed 88.8 kilos before breakfast. 

            Before 9:00 I logged onto Zoom for my Shakespeare lecture. We went through Act 3 of “The Winter's Tale” to set up for next week. 

            A few connected but discrete observations about the first three acts overlapped but separate. A quasi generic discussion of the first three acts then some generic terms about genre. 

            The title “The Winter's Tale” is descriptive. A winter's tale referred to a fireside story during the festive winter holiday. The story would be supernatural, scary, maybe with a ghost, potentially tragic, and replete with improbability. That describes the action of this play. But the title is not only descriptive. It points to something in the play. He puts something in the play so the title points to a winter's tale in “The Winters Tale” in 2.1. 

            The unraveling of Leontes, how is it performed? Hermione seems none the wiser as he goes nuts. No one knows what is happening to him. Things inside him are isolated from the society around him and actual circumstances. It is dramatically ironic because it begins in domestic tranquility.

            Hermione is with women friends and son. It is informal, playful and there is pleasant talk about the coming baby. There is a contrast in pace, rhythm and tone between 1.2. and 2.1. It happens at an over-determined significant point. In 2.1.21 Hermione says to Mamillius “Tell us a tale.” “Merry or sad? A sad tales best for winter.” The play looks back at itself here. Now from within the action there is an echo of what is outside the action. He puts the action in a season. There is a seasonal contrast in the two halves as we wind up in spring. “I have a tale of sprites and goblins.” It is a beautiful scene sketching out mom and son's relationship and we get a winter's tale in the story he tells. “There was a man dwelt by a churchyard. I'll tell it softly so the crickets don't hear.” That's very much a little boy thing to say. He whispers to mom. It is a realistic detail and meant to be touching. He's laying it on thick to show what will be destroyed. We don't get to hear the tale. The title describes the play's action but it recedes from view. Maybe it is meant to be compared but we don't know. It is just between Mamillius ad mom. Then crazily artificial Shakespeare goes as far as possible as fast as possible just at the moment the man in his winter tale disappears in silence in mom's ear, enter Leontes. This is the tragedy that requires the supernatural. Now we go from a winters tale to “The Winters Tale.” Maybe the winters tale is a festive communal occasion meant to scare but ultimately frivolous but we see it only to lose it. Now we get a domestic tragedy. Shakespeare is trying to show there's fantasy and then there's fantasy. He shows family love and destroys it. There are many ways to think about it and this is one. 

            The play unfolds from itself then refolds. He is asking you to reflect on the play and how it is described. Is it a winter's tale or does it contain a winter's tale? Dad comes in to kill everyone in 2.1 when Hermione and Mamillius are interrupted by Leontes. How the play represents relation to family.

            In 3.2 we have Hermione on trial, arraigned for treason because she is thought to have had sex with a foreign king. Before the revelation of the oracle Hermione speaks powerfully in her defence. She is shocked at her treatment and never takes the blame like Desdemona. She is forcefully innocent. One element of her speech is a social element. Her imprisonment has taken a toll on her body but more prominent is the social dimension. In 3.2.36f one thing that rankles her is that she is treated as common when she is the daughter of a king. She is not only upset about her abuse but indignant about her social degradation. In 3.2.118 she points out that the emperor of Russia is her dad. Social history and how far she has fallen. Between two moments in 3.2.97f Leontes has advertized publicly that Hermione is a cheater. A detailed piece of writing is when she says other women can expect the privilege of an isolated child bed but she has no privacy. This is not how high class women are treated. This is like a soap opera detailing crazy stuff that happens to the rich. She is defining her relationship in elevated social terms, in addition to being a mother. 

            Contrast her defence of herself to Leontes disregarding the sentence of the oracle. Apollo speaks but still there is a Christian reference to Judas. There are lots of anachronistic hodgepodges in Shakespeare. Leontes does not believe the oracle but at that moment Mamillius is dead. Apollo is angry. Hermione faints. This is a laconic dramatization as Leontes has not said “my son is dead” or anything about it. “My wife will be okay.” Leontes is laconic. What does one say if one's son dies? He's not speechless but talks about something else. In 3.2.151 he prays to Apollo. It took a long time for Professor Lopez to see how weird Leontes's speech is. He's talking of Camillo. One line for Polixenes, one for the queen, twelve for Camillo but none for Mamillius. Maybe he's grief stricken. Maybe he just wants to focus on what he can fix. His expressive possibilities are great but Shakespeare has him talk of Camillo. Hermione talks on her relation to her family, baby, son, husband, and friend. She talks all things familial but he doesn't. Hermione is social while Leontes is laconic. 

            The baby as evidence of infidelity. Her pregnancy is an invitation to doubt and so maybe no one speaks because they do doubt her. But the play makes it clear she is innocent. The consequence of disobeying the oracle. The oracle is part of that reality and therefore significant. Antigonus is given the baby and takes it to Bohemia to leave it on the seashore although in the real Bohemia there is no sea. He dreams of Hermione telling him where to leave the baby. She's dead in the dream. He reads the dream as an expression of Apollo's will. He thinks of Bohemia because he thinks Polixenes is the father. He thinks Apollo is punishing Hermione and so he exposes the baby in Bohemia. He is mistaken but not unreasonable. He accepts that she is guilty. 

            After the bear chases and eats Antigonus he is superseded by a Bohemian shepherd and son. The shepherd sees the baby. He thinks, though not bookish “I can read.” He says I see this illegitimate child. I know what it means when a baby is left outside. It is clear as day to him, confirming Antigonus's reading. The play keeps pulling back to doubt even after providing proof of innocence and then the play keeps clearing doubt. 

            In general terms Leontes does some dumb and destructive things. He asks his wife to persuade his friend to stay but uses that against her. He asks his counsellor to kill his friend. Now he throws his wife in prison. But sends to the oracle to show everyone his worth. Another stupid thing is that he has his wife's baby exiled. His pinnacle of dumbness is denying the oracle. The dumb stuff he does drives the action and sets the tone in the first three acts. When punished he just loses his family. He deserves misery because it is obvious how we must feel about him. 

            But other characters do stupid things too. Shakespeare is a negative dramatist. He looks at the other characters' dumb stuff too. Camillo feeds Leontes the delusion that he could poison his friend and will. Then he says he won't do it in 1.2.430. Camillo figures I am sure it is safer to get out of trouble than to figure out where the trouble is coming from. Is this true? Is it safer to get out of way? It is better to figure out what's going on. He and Polixenes run. I hope the queen is comfortable after I run because she is innocent. He hangs her out to dry. Everyone is exposed in the first three acts. Antigonus misreads his dream. I'll save the baby but though he says that he leaves it in the wild even when he sees a bear is coming. Also, Hermione in 2.2 is trying to get someone to show her baby to Leontes because she thinks it will change his mind. She can't do it because she is imprisoned. But Paulina, the self-proclaimed voice of reason takes the baby and speaks fearlessly, overruling her husband Antigonus. “Leontes, look at the baby. It looks like you.” Paulina gives him the baby and leaves. What would she say to Hermione when she asks, “Where's my baby?” “I left it there.” This moment echoes when Antigonus puts the baby on the seashore. It is echoed also in the stranding of Hermione in Sicily by Camillo and Polixenes. Paulina is stupid in her action because they say don't talk to him and yet she does. She miscalculates. Leontes uses that to have the baby killed. It is not that they are all evil. Many are really sympathetic but they are to some degree complicit in the violence that leads to the tragedy of the first three acts. 

            We will defer discussion of genre later. 

            I weighed 88.6 kilos before lunch. I had saltines with cream cheese, paprika and a glass of lemonade. 

            I took a siesta and slept an extra fifteen minutes. When I got up I still felt tired and it took almost an hour to feel awake. 

            I took a bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. Coming in from staring directly into the sun on my homeward stretch I saw green spots in front of my eyes. I weighed 88.4 kilos when I got home.

            I finished editing my lecture notes just before dinner. 

            I made pizza on a slice of Bavarian sandwich bread with Toscanese sauce, roast beef, and five-year-old cheddar. The melted cheddar made for a very tasty pizza. I had it with a beer while watching an episode of Gomer Pyle. 

            In this story Gomer goes to spend the weekend with his Marine buddy Leo Kovach at the Kovach home. He finds that the parents are in conflict with their daughter Anna because she is in love with Paul Szabo. The Kovach family and the Szabos have been feuding since before it seems they can remember. That night Gomer sleeps in Anna's room and she with her mother but he is awakened by rocks thrown at the window. It is Paul coming to visit Anna. Anna comes and tells Gomer to go to the kitchen as she lets Paul in. He learns that Anna and Paul meet secretly like this every night. Anna's mother wakes and finds Anna missing and she comes down calling for her. Paul leaves before she arrives and Anna quickly pours milk and cookies for herself and Gomer to make it look like they both couldn't sleep and got up for a snack and a chat. Mr and Mrs Kovach find them together and start thinking of Gomer as a husband for Anna. Gomer tries to talk to the Szabos but they throw him out when they learn he knows Anna. Next Gomer tricks both families into coming to a favourite Hungarian restaurant. He then tells them the story of Romeo and Juliet and how the denied lovers ended up killing themselves. This somehow sways them and they decide to give their blessings for a marriage. But when Anna and Paul say they want a small wedding they are told by both sets of parents that it isn't about them and they start to plan for hundreds of guests. 

            Mrs Kovach was played by Lillian Adams, who appeared in over 100 films and TV shows. She played Super Saver Lillian, in commercials for CVS Pharmacy. 

            Mrs Szabo was played by Rozsika Halmos. 

            Anna was played by Donna Loren, who started out at five as a performer on radio, television, on record, and in commercials. She sang the song “I Think It's Almost Christmas Time” at nine. At sixteen she became The Doctor Pepper Girl and appeared on billboards, in magazines, on TV and in movies as a representative of the product for five years. This led to a role in the movie “Muscle Beach Party” in which she sang the song “Muscle Bustle” written by Brian Wilson. This led to singing roles in other beach movies but her contract would not allow her to show her belly button. Her signature song was “It Only Hurts When I Cry.” She became a regular on “Shindig” and “The Milton Berle Show.” She was offered the starring role in the sitcom “Two For Penny” but she turned it down to get married and retire from performing. She was also a fashion designer and with her husband started the line ADASA Hawaii. She still sings and writes songs. She returned to performing in the 1990s and has released more records and a memoir.