The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

guilty was damaging to him. Thus, any person in
such an elevated position may be reminded that
they must be like Caesar’s wife—free of all taint
of misdeed. “I am as free as the air. I feel myself
as far above suspicion as Caesar’s wife” (Charles
Dickens, Bleak House, 1852–53).
Caiaphas (kaybfas) Archetype of a ruthless, hypocritical
politician. Caiaphas appears in the Bible
as a Jewish high priest who tries Jesus (John
18:14–28) on the grounds that it is “expedient for
us, that one man should die for the people, and
that the whole nation perish not” (John 11:50).
“Leaving Kennetbridge for this place is like coming
from Caiaphas to Pilate!” (Thomas Hardy, Jude
the Obscure, 1895).
Cain and Abel (kayn, aybbl) Archetype of two
brothers whose relationship ends in violent disagreement.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the story of Cain and
Abel, related in Genesis 4:1–16, which details
how Cain, the fi rst son of Adam and Eve and
described as a “tiller of the ground,” came to murder
his brother Abel, a shepherd, through envy:
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it
came to pass, when they were in the fi eld, that
Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew
him” (Genesis 4:8). “Cain’s envy was the more vile
and malignant towards his brother, Abel, because
when his sacrifi ce was better accepted there was
nobody to look on” (Francis Bacon, “On Envy,”
1601). See also cain’s city; mark of cain; my
brother’s keeper; raise cain.
Cain’s city (kayns) A city with a reputation for
corruption and evil. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the city supposedly
founded by Cain after he was banished by
God for the murder of his brother Abel. According
to Genesis 4:17, Cain “builded a city, and called
the name of the city, after the name of his son,
Enoch.” <strong>The</strong> settlement was founded with the best of
motives but like Cain’s city soon became a notorious den
of iniquity.
cake, let them eat See let them eat cake.
cakes and ale <strong>The</strong> material pleasures of life. <strong>The</strong>
phrase occurs in William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth
Night (1601): “Dost thou think, because thou art
virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” It
was used as the title of a 1930 novel by W. Somerset
Maugham and is also sometimes encountered
in the expression “Life is not all cakes and ale,”
meaning that no person’s life is without its
moments of hardship. “So supposing you never
marry, and if you go on being so fussy you probably
never will—are there to be no cakes and ale?”
(Lynne Reid Banks, <strong>The</strong> L-Shaped Room, 1960).
Calamity Jane (kblamitee) A reckless, adventurous
female, or one who predicts or seems prone
to accidents and other misfortunes. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the frontierswoman Martha Jane Burke (c.
1852–1903), who became famous for her riding
and shooting skills while working (often dressed
as a man) as a teamster supplying mining camps
during the gold rush that swept the Black Hills of
Dakota in the 1860s and 1870s. Her nickname
Calamity Jane arose from the fact that she is supposed
to have threatened “calamity” to any man
who approached her with a view to romance. His
daughter came home with minor scrapes and scratches so
often the rest of the family knew her as Calamity Jane.
Calchas (kalkas) Archetype of a wise prophet.
In Greek mythology, Calchas was a soothsayer
who advised the Greeks during the Trojan War. It
was Calchas who recommended the sacrifi ce of
Calchas
73