How
do you name some one? Something?
It puts me in mind of T.S Eliot's The
Naming of Cats.
The Naming of Cats is a difficult
matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think
at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have
THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the
family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such
as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them
sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they
sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such
as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible
everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's
particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else
how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his
whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give
you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as
Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more
than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left
over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name
that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS,
and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound
meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His
mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the
thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable
effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
I am writing a novel and having the
worst time naming my main character, the best name I can think of is
my own. I love my name always have. I am not one of those people who
talk in the third person or have my name all over the place with face
plates, pens and the like, but still I love my name. I feel for those
who despise their moniker, since I have known many. No I am quite
content to be Jessica although I wouldn't mind adding Star somewhere
amongst my current names. But never the less I am quick content
indeed. I guess because it's so very me, I mean I look like a Jessica
after all, and since my character is so like me, write what you know
right?, it is hard to call her by any other name. I have been
throwing around names with my best friend. I am looking for a
substantial name, one that can stand the test of time, be strong yet
vulnerable and sympathetic. One you can relate to. And sound right.
Like Peter Parker, Elizabeth Bennett, Izzy Stevens, Jack Ryan,
Sherlock
Holmes.
Here is another picture of Mr. PiBs Amadeus Cattington!
