Alchemy and Finnegans Wake

<p>In the first full-length study of Joyce's direct and indirect use of alchemical allusions DiBernard shows how an awareness of the alchemical metaphor guides a reader through the richness of<i> Finnegans Wake</i>. For example the alchemical transmutation of lead into gold parallels the transmutation of the dross and commotion of ordinary life into a work of art.</p><p>This study shows how the themes of Joyce's novel-death and rebirth the conflict between physical and spiritual incest colors forgery and the reconciliation of opposites-relate to the alchemical process. The author then presents a theory based on alchemical metaphor on the much debated subject of Joyce's view of the artist.</p>