Re: Socks or Octopus?

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Socks or Octopus?

In the scene that precedes Tony’s therapy session, he stands alone on a brisk autumn night, watching the octopus ride at the St. Elzear festival. Looking up, he spots Juliana Skiff, laughing gleefully, like a child, on the ride. He waves feebly and tries half-heartedly to catch her attention. His demeanour is wistful, almost Chaplin-esque. At this moment, Tony really does look like the sad (old) clown he so often claims to be. Cut quickly to Melfi’s office. There he muses about boredom.

Seeing Julianna reminds him palpably of the bawdy adventures that offer intense, instant gratification, as opposed to the quotidian aspects of marriage and all “the shit that [he own.” Still, in this scene at least, Tony Soprano appears to be bidding adieu to the contact highs that have fuelled his career as a don.

At episode’s end, he handles baby Nica with the finesse of a grandfather. Gone for now is Tony the Lothario. “Every day is a gift,” he laments to Melfi, “like a pair of socks.” Socks don’t dazzle the way Rolexes do, but they do keep your feet warm. They’re boring. But Tony Soprano seems to be on the cusp of understanding the nature of cool boredom, the happiness that comes with the end of ambition and the absence of struggle.

Then again, Tony Soprano is a mater of self-sabotage. Getting caught in the tentacles of an octopus or in the arms of Juliana is no doubt alluring. Soon, he will be put to the test.

Lead him not into temptation, Lord, but deliver him from himself.


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Re: Socks or Octopus?

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St Elzear's Feast Day is September 27, so you would assume the festival was around this time. Bobby later mentions, "St Anthony's, week after next." St. Anthony's Feast Day is June 13, so who knows exactly where we are in Soprano-time.

Back to Christopher's "hell dream" from "From Where to Eternity," he mentions that Mikey Palmice was " playing
dice with two roman soldiers and a bunch of the Irish
guys" Once again, this brings us to the Crucifixion scene where the Romans cast lots (played dice) for Jesus' garments.

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Re: Ginny Sac, Mrs Conti, and Opus Dei

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O.E.: I can imagine the motivation for Ginny Sac’s involvement with Opus Dei. Opus Dei demands rigid self-discipline and unflagging obedience to doctrine. Ginny may attribute her obesity to a lack of self-discipline and adherence to a strict regimen. Or the sin of gluttony may be her unconscious rebellion against a harsh Catholic upbringing. Whatever the case, she is likely struggling with the elemental Western dualism of body/sin versus soul/virtue.

Also: Did you notice the old crone Mrs Conti praying in church as Paulie and Patsy go to arrange the festa with the new pastor? She tells them to shut up! Mrs Conti symbolizes the premigration culture that is withering in the decadence of twenty-first-century American society.

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Re: Catholicism...

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Darngood, Sofia recounts the Opus Dei detail well. It was a mere blip...blip...blip. I am making more of a mountain out this molehill in that it was designed as more of a vehicle to express Florida-New York hostilities than as a portal for the exploration of this mysterious sect. Yet, it really captured my attention and remains fixed in my memory due to the recent noise in general surrounding OD. Essentially, at the wake of his father, Little Carmine became indignant when he saw the Opus Dei amulet on his father; he seemed to convey that Ginny's religious ministrations along these lines were an intrusion as well as an effrontery. But, believe me all of this transpired in a matter of only seconds.



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Re: Ginny Sac, Mrs Conti, and Opus Dei

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Avellino, in that religious fanaticism/obsession may be considered an addiction, I can see how Ginny Sac's adherence to OD may be a diagnostic feature of her personality construction, as you well suggest. She is obsessive as well as compulsive. Furthermore, this highly-fueled enactment of religious devotion through Opus Dei may also be the replacement for libidinous experience. Many women in paradoxically puritanical cultures substitute food and religion for primal sexual outlets.

Yes, I saw an elderly lady praying and shushing the transgressors. But, I did not recognize her as Mrs. Conti. I have experienced Mrs. C as an aberrant feature of pre-acculturated ItlAm society, in that she does not appear to uphold the norms of primness nor adhere to the cautious folkways and mores of her generation...I get a kick out of the ambiguity of her nature.

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