24. wee'l (etc.)
Alice Walker suggested that B had a distinctive preference for
wee'l (etc.) spellings as opposed to wee'le
(etc.).
The following discussion breaks these forms down by person.
The various compositors who set the texts used for Pavier copy and
Compositor B display a surprising unanimity on the spelling of
I'll. There are 124 (+J13) instances of ile in
both
copy and Pavier texts. One aberrant yle form found in copy
is
changed to ile. B's one deviation from the standard form
occurs
in a justified line in which he sets I'le for
Ile.
He'll, she'll, we'll, and
you'll occur in sufficient numbers to demonstrate B's strong
preferences for final 'l forms of these words. Several variant
factors are involved in these words. The use of the apostrophe, the ending
(-l or -le) and the doubling (in the case of
he'll, she'll and we'll) of the first
e are all separate alternatives operative for these words. B's
uniform preferences are for the doubling of the initial e, the
use
of the apostrophe, and the omission of the final -e.
Of the eighteen (+J2) times B encounters heele in
copy,
he changes eighteen (+J1) of these forms to his preferential
hee'l. In the one justified instance, B changes
heele
to heel. In the two instances in which he encountered
hee'le both are changed to hee'l. The one
contraction introduced by B changes he will to
hee'l. One aberrant hele in B's copy comes
through
as an unusual heele in his text.
Of the five sheele forms in copy, B changes four to
shee'l and sets one as shee'll. He changes all
four
copy shee'le spellings to his preferential
shee'l. The one copy
shee'l is reproduced by
B. Of
the two
sheel forms in copy, B changes one to
shee'l and carries the other over to his text.
We'll is a more complex word. B displays a preference
for wee'l but is subject to the influence of copy and more
prone
to deviate from his strict preference. B changes twenty-nine (+J3)
weele forms to wee'l. At the same time, he
changes
two justified weele forms to wee'll, fourteen
(+J2)
weele forms to weel, three weele
forms
to weell, one justified weele form to
weel and retains eight (+J3) weele forms found
in
copy. If the three wele spellings in copy, B changes one to
his
apparent preference wee'l but the other two to
weele. The one we'le form is changed to his
preferred wee'l as are the eight (+J1) occurrences of
wee'le. The two wee'l forms are reproduced
from
copy. Of the two (+J1) weel spellings in copy, one (+J1) is
changed to B's preferential wee'l and one is retained. Both
the
one weell and the one we wil
which are contracted by B become weel.
Compositor B displays a strong preference for you'l by
changing twenty (+J3) youle spellings to this form. Only
twice
does he reproduce youle from copy and in one unusual
instance
sets youle in place of his preferred you'l. One
other
you'l in copy is retained, and the two you'le
forms
are shortened to you'l.
With the exception of the Ile which is uniformly spelled
thusly, Compositor B displays a consistent spelling preference in favor of
hee'l, wee'l, and you'l. The only
variation comes in his tendency to depart occasionally from his strict habit
with respect to wee'l.
One additional word can be considered with this group. B's treatment
of contracted he is is as follows. Twice he sets
hee's
for copy he is. Of the eleven (+J4) hees in
copy,
B sets six (+J4) as hee's and five as he's. The
one
he's in copy is changed to hee's. Of the
seventeen
(+J3) hee's spellings in copy, B follows copy seventeen
(+J2)
times and changes one hee's to hee is in a
justified
line where these words stand at the very end of the line. B's preference is
clearly for the hee's spelling.
