P. 68, Scene 79 (1928) Dilsey said, all right.
P. 68, Scene 80 (1900) Versh smelled like rain.
Dating these two fragments requires close attention to the text. In Scene 77 (1928), we know that dinner is almost ready. In Scene 79, Dilsey announces dinner. Then, after these two lines, Benjy's mind shifts back to 1900 and to the images of the fire and the roof. Also, there is no indication that Versh is present in 1928; therefore, Scene 80 must be dated as 1900, especially since the same image of Versh coming in out of the rain is picked up again in Scene 85, below.
P. 68, Scene 81 (about 1909) We could hear Caddy . . .
P. 69, Scene 82 (1900) Versh said, Your name Benjamin . . .
P. 69, Scene 83 (about 1909) We were in the hall.
Some of the preceding scenes, those that take place in the library, recall to Benjy's mind another scene in the library — a scene when Caddy came in from a date with someone. Scenes 81 and 83 can be dated in 1909 by using the implication that Caddy is just beginning to experiment with sex and Benjy senses a difference in her. In Scene 81, Caddy avoids Benjy's gaze because she realizes that he instinctively knows that she is no longer a virgin. Previously, when Benjy sensed some deviation, Caddy went to the bathroom and washed off the perfume or went to the kitchen and washed off the kisses with kitchen soap; now she knows that she cannot wash away her sin and tries to avoid Benjy. Benjy, however, senses her sin and begins to cry because of the sin and because the sin separates Caddy from him.
