"Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves
Waited for rain, while the black clouds
Gathered far distant, over Himavant...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
“Ganga” refers to the Ganges River in India; “Himavant” refers to the peak of the Himalayas, the highest mountain peak in the world. Himavant is also a personified god of the Himalayas, and his daughter Ganga the goddess of the river. Describing these sites in South Asia serves to introduce the allusion to Hindu and Buddhist philosophies that follows.
"Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit
..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The mountain is personified as having a mouth and teeth and the ability to spit. The alliteration of “mountain” and “mouth” stresses the idea of water flowing from mountain springs. “Carious” in regard to teeth means decayed, underscoring the negative connotations of “dead.” Taken together, the poetic devices create the image of an arid landscape that develops the water versus rock motif.
“Carbuncular” is used as an adjective to indicate that the man visiting the typist, a young woman who works in an office, has a carbuncle, which is a collection of pus-filled boils under the skin. His being so physically unappealing suggests that his sexual encounter with the typist, which is about to be described, will be sordid.
In context, “demotic” means common, colloquial, or slangy. The merchant’s speaking in “demotic French” implies that he is not educated or refined, as does his being “unshaven.”
"Mr. Eugenides, the Smyrna merchant
Unshaven, with a pocket full of currants
C.i.f. London: documents at sight..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
Eliot’s notes indicate that “C.i.f. London” refers to the price of currants (dried fruit) being quoted as “carriage and insurance free to London”; “documents” refers to bills of lading presented to buyers upon receipt of goods. The passage indicates that Mr. Eugenides perhaps has money to spend.
"Well, that Sunday Albert was home, they had a hot gammon,
And they asked me in to dinner, to get the beauty of it hot—..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
Gammon is ham that has been cured or smoked like bacon. The passage, which ends the speaker’s discussion of Lil, suggests that with Albert’s return, Lil’s life proceeded, her misery unabated, as she resumed her duties as his wife. Like the woman in the first half of this section of the poem, sexuality for Lil is not a means of expressing love, and despite the great disparity between their social classes and lifestyles, both are trapped and isolated in lives with little meaning.
In context, “smart” means attractive and stylish. The speaker’s admonition implies that Lil is neither, again differentiating her from the woman in the first half of this section.
"When Lil’s husband got demobbed, I said—..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
“Demobbed” means discharged from military service. This line introduces the second half of section II in which an unidentified speaker relates a conversation with a woman named Lil, whose husband is coming home from the war.
"the laquearia,
Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling.
Huge sea-wood fed with copper
Burned green and orange, framed by the coloured stone,
In which sad light a carvèd dolphin swam...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
A "laquearia" is an elaborate ceiling made of recessed panels that often depict a scene of some sort. The ceiling in the room is ornate, like the rest of the woman’s bedroom. However, the light that illuminates the figure of a dolphin carved into one of the panels is “sad,” not glowing or glittering, which underscores the negative change in mood and atmosphere in Eliot’s description of the environment in which the woman lives.
A horoscope predicts someone’s future based on astrology, the study of the positions of celestial bodies and their influence on human affairs. Astrology and other pseudo-sciences, like numerology and palm reading, became increasingly popular in the 1920s, reflecting the diminishing influence of traditional religion, a continuing theme in the poem.
"Frisch weht der Wind..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
These German lines may be translated as follows: “Fresh blows the Wind / towards home / My Irish Child / where are you now?” Eliot’s notes identify the passage as lines 5–8 of act 1 of Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde. Tristan and Isolde’s enduring love for each other contrasts with the end of the relationship between the “hyacinth girl” and her lover described in the following section of the poem.
"Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
Translated from German, the sentence reads “I’m not Russian at all, I come from Lithuania, a true German.” It is unclear who is speaking at this point, because speakers change throughout the poem, often with no notice. The statement could be part of a conversation overheard in the Hofgarten. Eliot’s inclusion of foreign languages in the poem often serves to capture the atmosphere of a particular setting. In this case, it emphasizes the geographical and political elements present in Europe before World War I.
