Finnegans Wake new

Finnegans Wake – James Joyce’s autistic narrative Michael Fitzgerald, Former Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland. www.profmichaelfitzgerald.eu e-mail: [email protected] “To be narrow, peculiar and irresponsible, and at the same time all-encompassing, relentless and grand is Joyce’s style of greatness” Richard Ellman, 1959 ResearchGate/ Academia  James Joyce began publishing Finnegans Wake in sections. The text has been enormously controversial, enigmatic, obtuse, ̔nonsensical̕, esoteric, perplexing, heavy, incomprehensible, puzzling and unfathomable. Others have seen it as ̔the end of the novel̕, the last modernist novel, a great experimental novel, an anti-novel or work of genius. It is a work of genius. James Joyce, who had autism (Walker & Fitzgerald, 2008) wrote as an autistic narrative. Brown (2010), describes this Joycean writing as ̔obfuscated̕. This autistic narrative would include what Enda O’Brien (1999) called ̔blatant inconsistencies̕. He had autism which is characterised by ̔a piercing gaze̕, and a fixed stare. He also showed non-verbal flattening of affect or ̔no emotion on his face̕, (Walker & Fitzgerald, 2008). He was boyish looking, which reflected his immature emotional personality. Joyce stated that ̔it’s because I’ve not developed. If I had matured, I wouldn’t be so committed to this folie of writing (work in progress), which was Finnegans Wake This is correct. It quickly became obvious that James was a highly intelligent linguist, not rare in persons with autism. Enda O‘Brien (1999) described him as the ultimate wordsmith. He was known for his monologues or ̔set speeches̕. Like many people with autism, Joyce ̔kept a standard set of things to say to people̕, according to Wyndham Lewis (Walker & Fitzgerald, 2008). This is because of his difficulty initiating social conversation. His interests were highly focused and circumscribed. He was massively curious and autodidactic. He was a massive reader and a massive observer of people, their non-verbal and verbal behaviour. He was a detail-processor which is common in persons with autism. He was an inveterate notetaker of anything that interested him. He was as his father said ̔minutely analytical̕ and was obsessed with style and literary experimentation. Nancy Andreasen (1973) is completely incorrect to describe Finnegans Wake as the ̔product of a clever schizophrenic̕. He was not schizophrenic. There was schizophrenia on his wife’s side and probably autism on James’ side, probably his father. Further evidence of Joyce’s autism was that his novels were ̔strangely plotless̕, (Walker & Fitzgerald, 2008). It is not surprising because of Joyce’s autism that Enda O’Brien (1999) stated that Finnegans Wake is a book in which ̔people are not only people, they are rivers, bushes, mounds … human longing … caught in an archetypal sweep̕. Joyce was very much into preservation of sameness, repetition and routine, all characteristics of autism. Joyce had social impairments and he could be frequently be a lout, detached, coldly indifferent, shy and unapproachable. He had little appreciation of social cues. He also tended to be naïve and imprudent. He had a tendency to be hypersensitive and suspicious. He was somewhat perverse and sadomasochistic as great artists often are. It is unclear if he had some transvestism. He was a controlling person. He had identity diffusion another characteristic of autism. He was quite sensory and was hypersensitive to the sights, sounds and smells of Dublin and was hypersensitive to touch. He also had evidence of poor muscle tone and may have had Marfan’s Syndrome (Fitzgerald, 2021). He suffered from episodes of depression. Joyce had a volcanic effect on the literary establishment and his literary work was taken to the next level by Samuel Beckett and they should be considered together. The writing technique in Finnegans Wake is the autistic collage technique, where a bit of information or observations are acquired from any place and then put together in often disjointed sentences. The completed jigsaw or text reflect the original pieces of the collage. These individual pieces of the collage are put together in a musical or somewhat rhyming manner. The sound of the sentence, a very French issue, is usually more important than the content. Linear writing is put aside and sidelined. It is a kind of primary process type of writing but definitely not psychotic. Primary process thinking was associated with Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis. It was seen as the kind of thinking occurring in dreams and of course, Finnegans Wake is a novel of the night – a kind of dream narrative by primary process thinking of the dream thoughts. It is characterised by loose associations, illogical thought, fusion of ideas and images. It is a kind of regressed thinking and writing. Rucs (2020) noted that ̔this ability to integrate illogical associations … (which) was hypothesised to be facilitative of creativity̕. The notion of free association of ideas is absolutely central to Joyce’s style of writing and no writer has pushed this technique as far. Joyce’s free associations very often were related to the sound of words in one or more languages, his primary process is not governed by logic and can be illogical and make strange connections and associations which was indeed Joyce’s technique. Rucs (2020), notes an association between primary process thinking and creativity measures and divergent thinking. Joyce accessed the primary process of the unconscious via the technique of free association of ideas. Joyce was a great player with words and language – puns etc. Joyce used a lot of symbolisation. Joyce was comfortable with illogical associations. Some of Joyce’s symbols were ambiguous and allowed multiple interpretations. This increased the richness of his writing and of course linguistic symbols were very important to him. Joyce’s writing allows for the maximum fluidity and contradictions. Where you find contradiction, you find the truth. Logical thinking can often hide falsehood and pseudo truth. Joyce’s divergent thinking allowed the maximum use of free associations and increased the richness of his writing. Joyce’s Finnegans Wake is a kind of regressive type of writing in some ways, a rather primitive way of writing which was extremely difficult to do for Joyce and took him sixteen years. It was very important for Joyce that he was in control of this process. If he was not, it would be psychotic. Joyce (Alonso-Giraldez, 2020) creates ̔a continuous reality through the semantic flow, often chaotic and blurry. Joycean language reveals the inconsistencies and instabilities of one’s life̕. Joyce, like many people with autism e.g., Ludwig Wittgenstein (Fitzgerald, 2000) were obsessed with language and wrote in an unusual way. Wittgenstein (Fitzgerald, 2000) had his unique way of writing in little paragraphs. There is a similarity between Joyce, Wittgenstein and Beckett’s writing, all persons with autism (Fitzgerald, 2021). Harding (2008) makes a comment on ̔James Joyce’s concept of the underthought and compares this with the work of Wittgenstein̕. Alonso-Giraldez, (2020) notes that Joyce ̔builds reality through micro histories, sketches, discursive or introspective cognitive events̕. Indeed, Alonso-Giraldez (2020) noted that in Ulysses - ̔Dublin is constructed through discontinuous fragile elements, which gradually becomes more solid and produce through connection, the necessary, sometimes almost unnoticed, narrative continuity̕. Harding (2008) discusses Finnegans Wake as ̔the ultimate use of the English language̕ and ̔a book suffused with the theme of pattern and repetition̕. Repetition is very much central to the autistic process. Valpone (2014) uses McShane’s definition from his Theory of Ellipsis to define semantic ellipsis as the ̔non-expression of elements that, while crucial for a full semantic interpretation, are not signalled by a synaptic gap̕. Ellipsis is also ̔an intentional omission of a part of the text, or an unfinished thought, which causes a temporary suspension of the narrative flow̕. This will increase the obscurity of the text and make the reader work harder to fill in the blanks. Finnegans Wake to me, is more aimed at an academic literary audience as well as Joyceans, rather than the general reader, who may not have time to decode the text even with the assistance of a glossary. Tindall (1969) quotes Joyce as stating that Finnegans Wake is about ̔every those personal peace objects … wheresoevers̕. This illustrates the obscurity of Joyce’s text. Of course, autistic writers including Joyce can be very humorous in their writing (Fitzgerald, 2020, Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2004). In some way, the autistic writer writes for themselves alone. There are problems in creating a cohesive story ̔central coherence̕ and it comes across as fragmented. This is very much the autistic style. What is autistic narrative? Kanner, (1946), ̔described the metaphorical phrases or sentences that appear meaningless in context in which they were spoken̕ in Autism Tager-Flusberg (2017), noted that Frith, (1991), stated that the ̔unnatural language̕, ̔unusual choice of words and experiences̕ were described by both Kanner and Asperger and they ̔highlighted the idiosyncratic nature of linguistic expressions; from their clinical vantage, atypical language was a core feature that defined autism in their patients̕. Asperger (Fletcher-Watson et al, 2019), described children with autism speaking ̔like little adults̕, with ̔freedom̕ and ̔originality̕ of language and indeed, describing ̔fantastic stories̕. These are also seen in other authors with autism, for example Hans Christian Andersen (Fitzgerald, 2005). Asperger and Kanner were among one of the first to describe autism. The greatest works of fiction were autistic narratives (Fitzgerald, 2021). Definitions, narrative, autistic narrative and atypical language: According to the OUP Dictionary (2007), narrative ̔tells a story̕, or ̔is an account of a series of events, facts etc, given in order with the establishing of connection between them; narration a story̕. Autistic narrative tends to be pedantic, idiosyncratic, have echolalia, neologisms, with reduced emotional-laden words, impairments in semantics, problems in dealing with comprehension and meaning; impairment in metaphor or sarcasm and that has also 10% of the persons with autism have phonological/articulation errors (Bouchard, 2017; Happe, 1995). Fletcher-Watson et al (2019) writes about ̔echoing or speaking fluently but with an atypical approach to conversational rules or understanding of non-literal language (i.e., irony, metaphor), with ̔odd approaches to neurotypical peers̕. Persons with autism have difficulty holding ̔meta-representations in mind̕ (Fletcher-Watson et al, 2019), which leads to difficulty ̔understanding referential aspects of language, i.e., the difference between ̔my cup̕, and ̔your cup̕ on telling a story̕. Bernard Rimland (2015), notes that in autism, ̔autistic persons experience life as an incoherent series of unconnected events̕. Indeed, this is a good description of autistic narrative and truncation. It’s very difficult for them to get the gist of a story. Boucher (2017), describes the language at the ̔top end of the spectrum (as) somewhat pedantic and idiosyncratic̕ and that ̔subtle differences in the content and organisation of the conceptual networks underlying linguistic meaning̕. She goes on to state that ̔this may help to explain why words and phrases may be used with unusually narrow or idiosyncratic meaning̕. She also mentioned the problems with ̔semantics̕ and problems integrating ̔linguistic impact with real world knowledge̕. Formulacity is the repetition of certain phrases (Boucher, 2017) and this is seen in Joyce and in people on the spectrum. Lies and autistic narrative: There is a myth that persons with autism never lie (Fitzgerald, 2010). Because of their difficulties with feelings, they can show a lack of empathy and brutal honesty and have problems with verbal and social nuance which Joyce had. Paradoxically, they can make up fantastic stories and make accusations that can be dangerous to other people. Pragmatics: Pragmatic problems occur when a person takes ̔no cognisance of the interlocutors, in engaging in an exchange̕ (Dabon-Boileu, 2006). Baron-Cohen (2000) has pointed out that major pragmatic deficits include; (1) ̔tailoring one’s speech to a particular listener̕; (2) ̔adapting the content of one’s speech to what one’s listener already knows or needs to know̕; (3) ̔respecting conversational maxims such as being truthful, relevant, concise and polite̕; (4), ̔turn-taking so that there is space for both participants in the dialogue̕; (5) ̔being sensitive to the other person’s contribution to the conversation̕; (6) ̔recognising what is the wrong or right thing to say in a particular context̕; (7), ̔staying on topic̕; (8) ̔helping your listener to follow when a topic change is occurring̕. These difficulties are seen in Finnegans Wake. Bishop et al, (2017) points out ̔pragmatic difficulties affect the appropriate production or comprehension of language in a given context. They also include such characteristics as providing too much or too little information to a conversational partner, insensitivity to social cues in conversation, being over-literal in comprehension and having difficulty understanding figurative language. Prosodic abnormalities, in which cues such as intonation and stress are used idiosyncratically, so speech sounds robotic, stereotyped or otherwise atypical to the context, can also be disruptive in social communication. These difficulties are the hallmarks of communicative problems seen in autism. Stirling, et al, (2017), noted that ̔all studies (of autism) surveyed that addressed global coherence reported significant differences between the control (groups) and the autism groups, noting a focus on minor details, or problems with global coherence or gist, linking difficulties in understanding global structures has also been observed for narrative comprehension studies̕. In addition, ̔their (children with autism) stories are somewhat shorter in word length and use smaller numbers of different lexical terms̕. Stirling et al, (2017), concluded that children with autism ̔show evidence of creativity̕ and ̔that the most readily identifiable difficulties appears to relate to global coherence and planning, causal connectedness, perspectivisation and their representation of character interaction̕ and that children may go about the task, (of story re-telling) in a different way̕ (Stirling et al, 2017). This has all echoes of Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. Tantum (2000), points out that with autism ̔cognitive difficulties that parallel pragmatic speech problems include a fussiness and search for precision about concepts, which is doomed to failure because no definition exists for them, only competence in their use̕. This is what Wittgenstein did in the Tractatus, and then in Philosophical Investigations. Identity and autism: Jean Quigley, (2000), states that ̔our extreme sensitivity to narrative and a tendency to narrative experience links one’s sense of self and one’s sense of others in the social world. In the view of some authors, not only does narrative provide privileged focus for examining the culture of language but there may also be a special affinity between narrative and self, such that narratives can be said to play a special role in the process of self-construction̕. Persons with autism tend to have identity diffusion like James Joyce. Similarly, Ochs and Capps, (1996), point out that ̔personal narrative simultaneously is born out of experience and gives shape to experience. In this sense, narrative and self are inseparable. Self is broadly understood to be an unfolding reflective awareness of being in the world, including a sense of one’s past and future. We come to know ourselves as we use narrative to apprehend experiences and navigate relationships with others̕ (Quigley, 2000). Jean Quigley (2000), believes that ̔the self-constructive implications of skills at linguistic, and especially narrative practices̕ have a bearing on autism and identity. This is relevant to Joyce’s writing in Finnegans Wake. She also points out that ̔language, especially narrative, which remains problematic even for the most able autistic individual̕ (Quigley, 2002). Some savants with autism are linguists and pick up foreign languages with extreme rapidity. Certainly, Joyce picked up foreign languages very easily. There are many different languages used in Finnegans Wake – approximately sixty. Fitzgerald, (2004) describes a category of ̔Asperger savant̕, which means savants with high IQ although generally the word ̔savant̕, is associated with low IQ. Rimland, (2015), stated that autistic persons experience life as an ̔incoherent series of unconnected events̕. The autistic narrative is fragmented and reflects this fragmented sense of self. This is central to any understanding of Finnegans Wake. The autistic narrative is partly driven by a biological imperative. Not surprisingly, some great writers, (and poets – Joyce did write poetry) have highly intellectual autism and are able to do what Walt Whitman said to lay, ̔end to end words, never seen in each other’s company before̕. This would be typical James Joyce. It used to be thought that persons with autism had no ̔inner life̕ (Grandin 2005), which is absurd. Sacks (1995) went on to state that in autistic narrative ̔there were strange discontinuities (people injected suddenly into the narrative without warning, for instance̕, casual reference to incidents which the reader has no knowledge; and sudden, perplexing changes of topic̕. This would be common in Joyce’s writing. Murray, (2008), states that, ̔Grandin’s prose has a certain functionality to it̕, and chapters tended to ̔stop, rather than conclude̕. Finnegans Wake does not conclude with the last sentence but goes back to the beginning. Tammet, (2006) who has autism, describes problems with plot and theme in autistic narrative stating that in his writing ̔there was no dialogue, no emotions̕. Williams, (1992), who had autism stated that ̔I was, as far as I can make out, born alienated from the world̕ and Brown, (2010) stated that Williams ̔referred to glass as a metaphor for alienated̕. Williams (1992) stated, ̔I developed a language of my own̕. This is part of the autistic narrative and this is what Joyce did as well. Other fictional writers and autistic narrative: Examples of these, apart from Joyce, include Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, (Fitzgerald, 2004); Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, (Fitzgerald, 2004); Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, (Walker and Fitzgerald, 2006); 1984 by George Orwell, (Fitzgerald, 2005); Bartleby the Scrivener and Moby Dick by Herman Melville, (Fitzgerald, 2005; Murray 2008); Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, (Fitzgerald, 2005); Autobiography of William Butler Yeats, (Yeats, 1926); Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, (Grove, 1987); The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith, (Lyons and Fitzgerald, 2005); Bruce Chatwin, (Fitzgerald, 2005). Brown, (2010), describes autistic writing as ̔using a collage process from assembling̕ the text with the writing having a ̔hodgepodge look and feel to them, with bits and pieces taped or glued together to form a manuscript̕ and she went on to state that these ̔bits and pieces̕, approach to writing is common in writers with autism. This is the perfect description of Joyce’s writing in Finnegans Wake. Truncation: It is part of the autistic way of constructing an autistic narrative or story and contains excessive quotations from other writers because of the difficulty constructing a coherent narrative. This truncating of the writing leads to what Sacks calls ̔narrative gaps and discontinuities̕ which is very Joycean and lack of information on the sentence context. It addresses the writer more than the reader. There’s a lack of awareness of what the reader wants to know. It is simply autistic and egocentric and is a one-person world. Eakin (qtd in Rose, (2008), notes the importance of the theoretical attention to relationality declaring that ̔relationality identity confounds our familiar literary and ethical categories; both need to be stretched to accommodate the fluidity of selves and lives̕. Brown, (2010), notes that ̔time and space disorientation is an almost constant state of being for many persons with autism̕. Joyce used a very narrow time space in Finnegans Wake. Autistic writing can be excessively blunt and mechanical, say about sexual matters. There is a robotic flavour to it. The best example of autistic narrative is Lewis Carroll’s, ̔Alice in Wonderland̕ (Fitzgerald, 2006). There is no cause and effect, but a random world outside of science and logic. The work was successful, because the human world in reality is far more random than we realise, governed by many chance occurrences. This is another paradox and contradiction that Joyce’s autistic narrative can tell us a lot about our ̔real worlds̕. Indeed, Stuart Murray, (2008), points out that ̔autism may in some way, supply narratives of its own stories and versions of life and its events that differ from those produced within the majority culture̕ which is Joycean. Repetition of phrases is very common in autistic narrative. Brown, (2010) notes that in the ̔Alice̕ books, Carroll ̔relied greatly on incorporating texts from other authors – in one sense, the novel may be seen as a ̕scrap book̕, of his favourite works of literature̕, which is very similar to Joyce. This is the truncated approach to autism writing. Werth et al, (2001), noted that persons with autism can show ̔puns, jokes and word-play based on obsessional interests̕. This is very Joycean. Asperger, (Frith, 1991), stated that ̔when making puns, autistic people sometimes shine, and they may be highly creative. This can range from simple word and sound associations to precisely formulated, truly witty remarks̕. This is relevant to James Joyce (Fitzgerald 2021). It seems paradoxical to consider great works of fiction as autistic narratives. There is a myth that persons with autism can’t read fiction or write fiction. Well it’s more accurate to say that they have some problems, but they can do it, as shown in this paper. Lorna Wing (2001) many years ago highlighted their problems with imagination. Because of Joyce’s autism, that reduced his capacity as an imaginative writer and made him more into a collage-type writer. Definition autistic narrative: Autistic narrative (Loveland & Tunali, 1996) state that autistic narratives reflect ̔first of all, disordered language, such as difficulties in grammar, word-finding and semantics, and the failure to use language tools such as cohesive devices to mark organisation. They will also tend to differ in content from normal person’s narratives including more bizarre, irrelevant or inappropriate material that may reflect an idiosyncratic world view. The narratives will also include pragmatic errors reflecting a poor understanding of the listener’s knowledge – state, (as for example when the speaker refers to things or persons unknown to the listener without giving adequate explanation), and of the listener’s affective state, (for example inattention to gestural and facial feedback from the listener). Lewis Carroll and James Joyce: Brown, (2010), for Carroll (who had autism), (Fitzgerald, 2005) describes ̔this collage or mosaic process as an important aspect of Carroll’s writing, as it is for many writers on the autism spectrum. Since Carroll read widely and had enormous memory capacities, it’s almost as though the stored-up memories of the texts he had read “spilled out” onto the page. He could not have written in any other fashion. James Joyce is another example of a writer with autism, who used a collage technique for writing, though to an even greater degree – this is famously seen in Finnegans Wake, in which nearly every sentence of the text makes reference to another text. It isn’t surprising that Joyce was familiar with the Alice books which were also autistic narrative. This mimicking of other texts resembles the echolalia that 75% of autistic children who are verbal demonstrate when they are young̕. Words and word use: Howlin (1997), points out that, in autism, ̔understanding of individual words may be better developed than the ability to decode more complex instructions or concepts. They are better with facts than abstract concepts. The use of words in the social context is most difficult and they tend to take things literally. Tager-Flusberg et al, (2005), noted, in autism, ̔the abnormal use of words and phrases̕; the use of words with ̔special meanings̕; the ̔unusually rich knowledge of words̕; ̔hardly any mental state terms, particularly terms for cognitive states̕ - ̔no, think, remember, pretend̕; ̔odd-sounding̕ words; ̔pedantic speech̕; ̔concrete speech̕, problems with language syntax and morphology, as well as grammatical deficits. They also mentioned omitting the letter ̔A̕, the word ̔the̕ ̔auxiliary and past-tense̕, ̔third person present tense̕, ̔present progressive̕, with being poorer on ̔syntactic production in free speech̕. Joyce showed some of these features. Of course, some people with high functioning autism have ̔an unusually rich knowledge of words̕, (Kim et al, 2014), but they often fail to use their knowledge of words in the normal way to facilitate performance on retrieval or organisational tasks̕, (Kim et al, 2014). Kim et al, (2014) points out that they use ̔odd sounding̕, words or ̔neologisms̕. They use ̔pedantic speech and being overly precise in a rather concrete way̕, and to use ̔a narrow range of constructions to ask fewer questions̕, (Kim et al, 2014). They are more likely to omit ̔articles, (letter A, the), auxiliary, auxiliary and copula verbs, past-tense and present progressive̕ as well as using ̔jargon words̕, (Kim et al, 2014). They also use ̔formulaic speech̕, (Kim et al, 2014). They have problems with, ̔deixis, the aspect of language that codes shifting, reference between the speaker and the listener̕, (Kim et al, 2014). They have difficulty seeing the other person’s point of view. They have difficulty understanding the mood of a sentence and have difficulty describing events in a conversational context, (Kim et al, 2014). Mentis & Thompson (1991), states ̔that well-developed linguistic knowledge at the sentence level … does not necessarily translate into creating a cohesive, coherent text̕. Language comprehension: Tager-Flusberg et al, (2005) noted that persons with autism were ̔less likely to use a semantically based problem-even strategy, interpreting sentences based on their likelihood of occurring in the real world̕. The second point here is that they have difficulty determining ̔the spoken intention without explicit cuing over and above any syntactic comprehension deficit that might be present̕, (Tager-Flusberg et al, 2005). They also have problems in describing particular phenomena ̔such as mental states or emotions̕, (Tager-Flusberg et al, 2005). Some persons with autism initiate very little conversations with others and others initiate too much, often inappropriately. They have difficulty knowing what other people know, what extra information they should give to other people so that the other person would understand what is being expressed. Joyce gives too little information in Finnegans Wake. Conversational intention: Twachtman-Cullen, (1988) describes this conversational intention as including, (1) ̔quantity – without being verbose̕; (2) ̔confabulation̕; (3) ̔relevance̕, to the topic; (4) ̔clarity – clear and understandable̕. The fiction writer with autism, like Joyce, has difficulties in all these areas, as has the reader of the texts. Here, the reader has difficulty understanding the autistic writer’s interest and the writer has difficulty understanding the reader’s perspective. One often sees changes of topic in autistic fictional writing called truncation, (the style of the philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, (Fitzgerald 2000) This is also seen in Joyce, (Fitzgerald 2000). There are unclear endings as in Joyce’s Finnegans Wake or links between chapters. The fictional writer with autism often does not give critical information including non-verbal behaviour, facial expression, body language etc, which makes it very difficult to understand the description of the characters in fiction. Mehrabian, (1968), showed that only 7% of the emotional meaning and 93% was given by other methods, including ̔55% of the emotional content expressed in language … and 38% … (by) tone of voice̕, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). This means that in normal fictional writing and description of characters, about 93% of the words should focus on para-linguistic features including non-verbal behaviour and tone of voice. Another problem with the autistic narrative is the slowness there is in processing language, and they have difficulty in producing meaningful language or ̔small-talk̕, in social situations. Taking things literally or using concrete language can be very useful for humour (Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2004) and can be seen in fiction by autistic authors, where there is a ̔literalness … (giving) language an odd, pedantic quality̕, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). We also see this in Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland and also in Joyce. This reflects a problem with ̔intangible abstract social reasoning̕, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). Hacking & language: Ian Hacking, (2009), states that each person with autism are ̔helping to create a language about what was hitherto unknown̕. Examples would be James Joyce, Lewis Carroll and Samuel Beckett. That may be why they came across as so unique, innovative and paradigm changing. Orsini & Davidson (2013), note that ̔many autistic persons have difficulties with associative processes essential for narrative thought̕. They want sameness and therefore institute repetitiveness to deal with the perplexity and complexity of the environment. Further commentary on language: Suj et al, (2017)) pointed out the problems in autism with inference; abstract reasoning; subtle language deficits; misinterpretations; idiosyncratic language; problems with gist; formulaic language; odd content; less reflective; more self-repetitions and less good stories as one sees in James Joyce’s writings. Boucher (2017) notes that language impairment in autism ̔affects language in all modalities whether spoken, gestural, signed, written̕ and problems with ̔dexis-deitic terms̕, the meaning of which is dependent on the speaker and the speaker’s location in time and space, for example, you/me, here/there. Language abnormality in autism is almost infinite because of the spectrum has so much variability and contradictory findings. In autistic fiction, there can be abrupt changes in topic, with unusual words and unusual use of words, giving too much information or too little information, super-egoish writing with a lot of self-criticism, associated with poor self-esteem and a fascination with facts and travelling ̔blindly̕, using a lot of technical language, crude language, a lot of small details and huge capacity for observation. Prosody: There are problems with ̔intonational cues, monotonous language̕ or ̔singsong, rather than flat pattern̕, (Tager-Flusberg et al, 2005). Joyce was very much into a sing-song pattern. Metaphor: Persons with autism have problems with metaphorical language and use neologisms or made-up words that don’t exist. This is James Joyce. Baron-Cohen, (1993) notes that the ̔failure to use language to communicate feelings̕, but that they ̔take an obsessional interest in word meanings̕. This is James Joyce. Pragmatics: Tuller et al, (2017) is correct that there is ̔a consensus that pragmatics are universally impaired in autism̕. This fits with clinical experience. Sterling et al, (2017), in relation to autism notes difficulties with ̔global coherence, linking, shorter and simpler narratives, causality, perspectivity̕ and ̔representation of character intervention̕. Certainly, Joyce’s conversation with Marcel Proust at the famous Parisienne dinner got nowhere, probably because of Joyce’s autism. Metaphorical language: The use of metaphorical language … ̔that holds private idiosyncratic meaning̕, is common in autism, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). The person with autism uses it to make a ̔private reference̕, which is ̔situation-specific̕, and shows the person with autism’s ̔difficulty with perspective̕, and problems with social linguistic competence, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). The ̔use of metaphorical language is … most ̔poetic̕, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). Pang, (2021) who has autism, states that she is ̔on a different metaphorical wavelength to most fellow human beings̕. Pang (2021), goes on to state that she uses the algorithms of science to help her understand humans the social situation. Joyce did use geometric shapes in Finnegans Wake. Some people with high functioning autism ̔are quite adept at wordplay and puns, ranging from simplistic associations to high-level, witty remarks̕, (Twachtman-Cullen, 1998). This applies to Joyce. Pang, (2021), states that having high functioning autism, she has ̔the eyes of a hawk and the ears and nose of a bloodhound̕. Imitation and copying are used massively to get an understanding of others. Lorna Wing (2001) identifies an autistic individual’s ̔inability to put together all kinds of information derived from past memories and present events, to make sense of experiences, to predict what is likely to happen in the future and to make plans̕. She concludes that ̔people with autistic disorders … find it difficult to organise themselves in time and space̕. In Finnegans Wake, Joyce limited himself to night-time. Persons with autism and their fictional characters often show a lot of suspicion and naivety with a lot of contradictory behaviour, truncated writing with excessive quotations, special interests, particular focus on colour and landscape, containing puzzlement and uncertainty about the social world, which they are trying to decode̕. In terms of autistic writing, Oliver Sacks, (1995) stated that ̔there are strange discontinuities; casual reference to incidents which the reader had no knowledge of and sudden perplexing changes of topic̕. Orsini et al, (2013), asks ̔is it even possible to render chaotic experiences and non-linear consciousness through linear narrative̕. Orsini et al, (2013), also notes that Osteen (2013), stated that autistic narrative harnesses ̔genre conventions, (mystery, bildungsroman) using tropes of repetition (echoes, mirrors, interior dialogue)̕. There is also the use of ̔non-narrative elements (graphs, comic panels, drawings)̕. Osteen, (2013), describes the autism novel as ̔epitomising Rule 3̕ and this novel exemplifies Rule 1 does not exist̕. Murray, (2008), states that ̔autism in fiction̕, (narratives) …, ̔are simply unable to handle the spectrum of autistic subjectivity and presence̕. The collage technique: Killeen (2002), noted during the sixteen years it took James Joyce to write Finnegans Wake ̔he filled at least fifty notebooks with memorable items that often ended up in the full text̕. What was extraordinary was that ̔the sources are scattered and diverse since Joyce had no very clear idea of what he was taking the notes for̕. In terms or researching Finnegans Wake, this put things the opposite way to normal research. Killeen (2002) notes that ̔often in the notebooks, Joyce’s interest is that of a lexicographer, he will scan magazine articles related to interest groups, such as golfers or ornithologists or anglers, cull words that are familiar in such contexts but esoteric in most others and gleefully incorporate them into the work in progress̕. Often, narrow interests of Joyce include ̔death notices̕. In the deciphering Finnegans Wake (Tindall, 1969), a reader’s guide to Finnegans Wake is helpful but the reader’s free association in relation to each word, phrase or sentence is even more important for the reader. Joyce, while writing, enjoyed the idea of the reader puzzling over the text. Clinton Cahill states that Finnegans Wake accommodates ̔highly structured and whimsically random elements, new “nodes” of meaning and their associated visual impressions̕. This is why Finnegans Wake can be re-read endlessly with new associations and new understandings. Clinton goes on to state that ̔abandoning any expectation of linear unwinding of “storyline” but enjoying fragments of sense as you come across them … a kind of montage of what you think is going on̕. Clinton states that ̔there is no final destination; and disorientation is all part of the fun̕. Clinton notes ̔the challenges of its language, its elaborate digressions, its embedded codes and buried references̕ which require a reader’s guide. Clinton states that in reading Finnegans Wake ̔expect to feel lost, out of your depth … puzzled and confounded, but also astounded at sudden profundity, wild spectrums of humour and lyrical beauty̕. Finnegans Wake is extremely condensed with each sentence containing so many different layers of possible meaning. It requires a massive commitment on the part of the reader, particularly if you compare this to Joyce’s Dubliners. It’s a text that’s almost written for English literary departments of universities and post-graduate students as well as specialised Joyceans. Finnegans Wake isn’t particularly written for the average man in the street, nor does the average man in the street have the time to decode it. Conclusion: This paper could be criticized as being an example of literary criticism by medical diagnosis. Most disciplines operate in silos which makes this criticism more likely. Philosophers called the problem being expressed here the genetic fallacy and history does not like this approach and dismisses it as the ̔great Man̕ explanation of history. Of course, it’s not all or nothing and there is some truth in all those criticisms if the cultural, social and emotional context is ignored. According to Wittgenstein, understanding the work and the man are related (Fitzgerald, 2004). 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