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Article: An Irishwoman's Diary
- Article from:
- The Irish Times
- Article date:
- September 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Irish Times. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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'HOW DO you pronounce your middle name?" asked the pleasant man
in the Passport Office, so I told him, adding that I pronounce it as
rarely as possible. Among words, names are surely the most loaded.
Rumpelstilskin, in the fairy story, is defeated when the heroine
discovers his name. In Arthurian legend, a knight who loses a duel
must reveal his name to the victor, but is allowed only to request
the victor to do the same. In the Catholic rite, a demon can be
expelled only when the exorcist has forced him (her, it?) to utter
their name. I have to date kept stumm about the unfortunate result
of my parents' enthusiasm at the arrival of their first born on a
particular feast-day. They didn't ...