But the father is inevitably disappointed for the mother teaches her daughter that beneath the stories and the identities lies the world of letters and desire. As Anna thinks back over her past life, she remembers how much her husband (the ubiquitous figure who is indicated by the letters HCE) wanted a daughter, hoping for a female in the family who would believe his stories, who would give to him the respect that he feels is his due. The importance of the opposition between the invisible language of the story and the material language of desire is evident throughout Finnegans Wake but it is towards the end as Anna Livia, both mother and river, flows to her death that it is stated in one of its simplest forms.
Page references are to Ulysses (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1971 Edn.) Finnegans Wake (London: Faber & Faber 1964 Edn.).