The cottages are named for the things that the residents joy. They’re at the shore, so sea spray and ebb tide are normal joyful things. “Life itself” to some extent mocks the idea of naming any one experience of joyfulness.
My experience of cabin-naming is that it is often based on some local feature, focusing on identity (telling cabins apart) rather than joyful. Sometimes the name is chosen to also say something about the occupants.
If the cabins weren’t on the same level and so close together, I would think the names reflected the threat from the ocean – the furthest has only sea spray to contend with, the next suffers from the tide (though you would think high tide or flood tide would have been better names in this scenario) and the nearest to the sea is a risk to life and limb.
But as the cabins are close together, etc, I don’t think this interpretation works.
In my experience, names applied to houses (both in northern Germany and southern England) tend to be cutesy, “precious” expressions, or completely worn-out puns, much like the names that boat owners apply to their compensatory status symbols. The man’s objection to the last name is probably that it seems arrogant, as if that cabin were any more (or less) important than the other two.
P.S. As for “giving joy”, seeing Keera’s name pop up here at CIDU (for the first time in 15 months) was enough to do that for me.
Growing up the family vacationed at a low-rent beach resort in Michigan City, IN. The cabins were named after fairy tale characters. It’s long since been bulldozed out of existence and a condo built on the land.
Comics I Don't Understand 
I don’t think I’ve seen this before.
The cottages are named for the things that the residents joy. They’re at the shore, so sea spray and ebb tide are normal joyful things. “Life itself” to some extent mocks the idea of naming any one experience of joyfulness.
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*that give the residents joy
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My experience of cabin-naming is that it is often based on some local feature, focusing on identity (telling cabins apart) rather than joyful. Sometimes the name is chosen to also say something about the occupants.
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If the cabins weren’t on the same level and so close together, I would think the names reflected the threat from the ocean – the furthest has only sea spray to contend with, the next suffers from the tide (though you would think high tide or flood tide would have been better names in this scenario) and the nearest to the sea is a risk to life and limb.
But as the cabins are close together, etc, I don’t think this interpretation works.
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In my experience, names applied to houses (both in northern Germany and southern England) tend to be cutesy, “precious” expressions, or completely worn-out puns, much like the names that boat owners apply to their compensatory status symbols. The man’s objection to the last name is probably that it seems arrogant, as if that cabin were any more (or less) important than the other two.
P.S. As for “giving joy”, seeing Keera’s name pop up here at CIDU (for the first time in 15 months) was enough to do that for me.
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Our house is named “Huddling Place,” after the Clifford Simak short story. And these days its name has become especially appropriate.
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Been to the Dun Roman, have you?
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Growing up the family vacationed at a low-rent beach resort in Michigan City, IN. The cabins were named after fairy tale characters. It’s long since been bulldozed out of existence and a condo built on the land.
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