Classics and the Western Canon discussion

At the end of book 10 Odysseus leaves the island of Circe with her instructions to sail for the house of Hades and consult the ghost of the blind seer Teiresias. The night before they are to leave, Elpenor, one of Odysseus's crew, gets drunk and falls asleep on the roof of Circe's house. When he wakes in the morning he falls from the roof, breaks his neck, and his soul descends to Hades. When Odysseus arrives in Hades in Book 11, Odysseus speaks with Elpenor, who asks Odysseus not to leave him unburied on Circe's island.

The funeral of Bloom's acquaintance, Paddy Dignam. Bloom travels with his companions from Dignam's house in east Dublin to Glasnevin Cemetery northwest of the city. Among his companions are Simon Dedalus, Stephen's father. The cab passes Stephen, who has taken the tram from Dalkey and is on his way to Sandymount strand (where Proteus takes place.) Bloom points him out to Simon, who asks if his "fides aches" (Mulligan) is with him. Simon thinks Stephen must be living with his aunt and uncle. (Which he is not, though he thinks about them on his walk.) "Home also I cannot go," Stephen remarks at the end of the first episode.

The topic of father and son leads Bloom to reminisce on his own son, Rudy, who died as an infant. Bloom not only thinks about his son's death, but also his conception. Soon the cab passes Blazes Boylan, "airing his quiff". Bloom's thoughts about Molly and his dead son seem to collide with the appearance of Boylan. The cab passes Reuben J. Dodd, a Jewish moneylender. Simon Dedalus curses him. A funeral cortege for a child is passed. In discussing the cause of Dignam's death, the subject of suicide is raised. Only Cunningham seems to know that Bloom's father committed suicide.

They arrive at the cemetery and a peremptory funeral service is held. Dignam is buried, and the attendees visit or mention other notable graves, including that of Simon's wife (and Stephen's mother.) Hynes takes down the names of those in attendance for publication. A man unknown to them all is there, which presents one of the famous riddles of Ulysses: who is the man in the Mcintosh?

The word "heart" appears 21 times in this episode.

Bloom's humanity and empathy are on special display in this episode, as well as his fascination with the practical. Just as he thought earlier about the thoughts of his cat, he now thinks about the thoughts and experiences of the dead, about being buried alive, and he even considers what it must be like to be a bird or a rat in the cemetery.

Links:

A tour of Glasnevin Cemetery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7O7...

To follow the route from Dignam's house to Glasnevin Cemetery:
http://ulysses.bc.edu

I did find Bloom's musing on being the caretaker trying to woo a wife quite amusing. This combined with the surprised comments about Bloom being Molly's husband (I forget who said them), strikes me as being rather insightful about how men are perceived in society. Traditionally they are the bread-winners but what happens when the man's job isn't what a most expect or if the woman earns more than a man. I'm curious to see if Joyce addresses this any further in the book.

What I took in from this episode are the magnificently written ponderings over death: both disgusting (worms in skulls) and touching (Rudy). And then the Macintosh guy. I have no idea who he is but sometimes I get this idea in my head that he is somebody's father's ghost all Hamlet-like, since that play keeps appearing here. But yeah, no idea really.

Tommi wrote: "I have no idea who he is but sometimes I get this idea in my head that he is somebody's father's ghost all Hamlet-like, since that play keeps appearing here. But yeah, no idea really. "

It really is a mystery who the Mcintosh man is, though there are theories. But your connection with Hamlet's ghost is great. It actually foreshadows the Scylla and Charybdis episode, where Stephen expounds on his earlier quip about Shakespeare being the ghost of Hamlet's father, etc. The father-son theme runs through the whole book: with Stephen it's expressed by his complicated theories about the Trinity and the heresies associated with it, and also with Hamlet. With Bloom it is more real and centers on the death of his son.

Tiffany wrote: "I did find Bloom's musing on being the caretaker trying to woo a wife quite amusing. This combined with the surprised comments about Bloom being Molly's husband (I forget who said them), strikes me..."

Bloom does seem like an unlikely match for a woman like Molly, from what we know so far. And this seems to be the opinion of those around him as well. What do you suppose Molly sees in Bloom?

What do you suppose Molly sees in Bloom?..."

Blooms serves her, dotes on her, allows her to be the diva, doesn't make too many demands, and he's flattered to have wed her although she had other suitors. Maybe he was the one suitor who would marry her when she was in trouble.

So why is "heart" mentioned so many times?

Thomas wrote: "What do you suppose Molly sees in Bloom?..."

Maybe she believes he loves her. Maybe their relationship is suspended or not at its peak passion. I don't think Bloom sees Molly in the same way he sees the girls on the street. Odysseus seemed to be able to enjoy (maybe only under coercion)the women on route home but still love Penelope.

Maybe we haven't come to this yet, I have to admit I haven't read the book in a year or so, but we may not have reached Bloom and Molly's history. What she sees in him will become clear, or what she saw in him when she was young and married him, will become clear. Much milk has spilt since then and now, some of which Leopold cried over and Molly doesn't seem to. And vice versa. I think this is a book that you have to live in paragraph by paragraph, in the "now," which I hate to say, because so much is revealed. It is a story that folds over, around, and through itself, gives messages of what might be coming that are beautifully ambiguous. And it's all stream of consciousness, which means we're learning what the character believes or fears or hopes, not necessarily what's true. Anyway, sorry, I just think you almost need to just walk the streets of Dublin for the day and hear what you hear, and then hear something different, I don't mean to tell you all this, I'm sure you know it.

I thought Macintosh man was supposed to be Joyce's self-insertion?

Ellen wrote: "Maybe we haven't come to this yet, I have to admit I haven't read the book in a year or so, but we may not have reached Bloom and Molly's history. What she sees in him will become clear, or what s..."

Your comment about enjoy walking the streets of Dublin in the now of june 16 is not so easy. We have our own consciousness along, the characters' consciousnesses, and Joyce's. None of those parties can be separate from their past, but I like the idea of trying to live each footfall of the character.

Ellen wrote: "...I don't mean to tell you all this, I'm sure you know it...."

But we wouldn't experience your passion without your writing and sharing with us! (I think back, too, to your comments about the Catholic Church and the Irish in upstate New York -- I shall continue to test them against other tidbits I know and that come my way.)

Ellen wrote: "Maybe we haven't come to this yet, I have to admit I haven't read the book in a year or so, but we may not have reached Bloom and Molly's history. What she sees in him will become clear, or what s..."

Although I've read the book several times I find this time I'm having to go very slowly. It's that I'm so much more alert to the language. Not the issues of narration or content or the references and allusions, but just the words.

Susan wrote: "So why is "heart" mentioned so many times?"

Joyce systematized Ulysses in a few different ways, but one of them was by organs of the body. The organ for this episode is obviously the heart. But why did he choose the heart for a chapter that has a funeral at the, um, heart of it?

One of the beautiful things about Bloom is that he frequently finds light in the darkness, or light despite the darkness. When a hearse bearing the body of an infant passes him, he thinks of his son Rudy, who also died as an infant. This memory, which would for most people be a matter of pure grief, turns to the thought of Rudy's conception, and of the passion between himself and Molly. Which is also a matter of the heart.

This is one of my favorite episodes in the book for that reason. It's about death, but it's also about finding life in the midst of it.

Thomas wrote: "Susan wrote: "So why is "heart" mentioned so many times?"

This is one of my favorite episodes in the book for that reason. It's about death, but it's also about finding life in the midst of it. ...."

Thanks, Thomas. Strikes me that Bloom's had 10 years to deal with the death of his son and has moved past anger and denial, blame,the "head" stages of grief, and into the "heart" stage of acceptance--it is just..."another gone." It's just a small step to "I too will be another gone" and the acceptance of one's own mortality. Stephen's thoughts about rescuing the drowning man suggest he's in the "head" rather than "heart" in his response to death.

Susan wrote: "Thanks, Thomas. Strikes me that Bloom's had 10 years to deal with the death of his son and has moved past anger and denial, blame,the "head" stages of grief, and into the "heart" stage of acceptance- ..."

Yes, I think so too, but there's one thing that is still bothering Bloom. It is easy to overlook, but it will come up again:

--Sad, Martin Cunningham said. A child.
A dwarf's face mauve and wrinkled like little Rudy's was. Dwarf's body, weak as putty, in a whitened deal box. Burial friendly society pays. Penny a week for a sod of turf. Our. Little. Beggar. Baby. Meant nothing. Mistake of nature. If it's healthy it's from the mother. If not the man. Better luck next time.

Bloom doesn't blame himself for Rudy's death; it is a "mistake of nature." But for some reason he believes that it's the man's fault, and as the man, he's it. (Interesting too that he says "man" and not "father.")

I recently read "As I Lay Dying" and was somewhat reminded of it reading this chapter. Maybe the realness of the process of death? I think this is my least favorite chapter in Ulysses, probably just because of the subject matter. I don't like going to funerals, much less reading about them.

I'm having some issues sympathizing with Bloom. He is upset over his wife's affair, and yet he's engaging in a relationship of his own.

Thomas wrote: Bloom has moved past anger and denial, blame,the "head" stages of grief, and into the "heart" stag..Mistake of nature. If it's healthy it's from the mother. If not the man. Better luck next time.."

So you're suggesting that perhaps Bloom has not come to terms with the death of his son and particularly his responsibility, his bad seed, which contributed to the child's lack of viability. Does he believe this assertion and absolve Molly of any responsibility or does he feel that she bears some responsibility?

Interesting that Stephen's father doesn't necessarily believe that there's a heaven. Hmmm. Wonder which came first.

Susan wrote: "Does he believe this assertion and absolve Molly of any responsibility or does he feel that she bears some responsibility? "

I'm not sure, but it's something to keep thinking about as we read on. I just wanted to point out that little detail because it's easy to overlook. Little Rudy is never far from Bloom's mind.

Thomas wrote: "Susan wrote: "Does he believe this assertion and absolve Molly of any responsibility or does he feel that she bears some responsibility? "

I'm not sure, but it's something to keep thinking about a..."

In your original quote, "Mistake of nature. If it's healthy it's from the mother. If not the man. Better luck next time.", Martin Cunningham's statements and Bloom's thoughts are intermingled (maybe) and present different ways to think about the child's death--mistake of nature or the more guilt-inducing "if it's not healthy it's the man's fault." Because Bloom is susceptible to feelings of inadequacy, the comments by Martin Cunningham give him pause. I'm not sure pause is actually taking on the responsibility for the inviable child. He's looking for ways to think about his marriage.

Susan wrote: "Because Bloom is susceptible to feelings of inadequacy, the comments by Martin Cunningham give him pause. ."

Which comments are you referring to, Susan? I looked at the passage again and I'm not sure...

Thomas wrote: "If it's healthy it's from the mother. If not the man. Better luck next time.

Bloom doesn't blame himself for Rudy's death; it is a "mistake of nature." But for some reason he believes that it's the man's fault, and as the man, he's it."

Thanks for pointing out this passage, Thomas. I paused while reading it, not sure what he meant by it being the man's fault. It sounds like something we will come back to later in the book.

I agree with you that this was a beautiful passage with Bloom's memory of Rudy's conception.

I agree with Tiffany, that Bloom's thoughts on how the caretaker could go about wooing a woman were pretty amusing. It sounds like a subject I would find myself caught up in while sitting around the campfire with my husband, brother, and cousin.

I liked this chapter, for even though it dealt with death I thought it was real in the sense of what Bloom thinks of dealing with the nitty gritty logistics of what happens to all of us once we die. They may be unpleasant things to think about, but I can't help but think that we all at one time think about stuff like this.

My comments have no resolution.

Susan posted about the drownings and their possibly having some linkage to fathers. Charles had posted regarding drownings. ("The drowning man recurs when Bloom meets M'Coy on the street and M'Coy avoids going to Paddy Dignam's funeral because a dead man is expected to wash up on the beach and M'Coy would need to be there.")

Here in Hades, Bloom thinks "Drowning they say is the pleasantest [way to die].

And I can't find it, but there's a phrase: "drowned Barabbas." I wondered, "What can THAT mean? Wasn't Barabbas hung?" I googled around. There was a Christopher Marlowe play, The Jew of Malta, with a drowned Barabbas.

And I found this line: "Mourning coaches drawn up drowning their grief."

Somehow/some way, I want the drownings to mean something.

This Raises a Question in my Mind. Well it does. Supposition.



"Who is that chap behind with Tom Kernan? John Henry Menton asked. I know his face.

Ned Lambert glanced back.

--Bloom, he said, Madam Marion Tweedy that was, is, I mean, the soprano. She's his wife.

--O, to be sure, john Henry Menton said. I haven't seen her for some time. She was a finelooking woman. I danced with her, wait, fifteen seventeen golden years ago, at Mat Dillon's, in Roundtown. And a good armful she was.

He looked behind through the others.

--What is he? he asked. What does he do? Wasn't he in the stationery line? I fell foul of him one evening, I remember, **at bowls.

Ned Lambert smiled. [Why does Ned Lambert smile.]

--Yes, he was, he said, in Wisdom Hely's. A traveler for *blottingpaper.

--In God's name, John Henry Menton said, what did she marry a coon like that for? She had plenty of game in her then.

--Has still, Ned Lambert said."


So here I am possibly maligning Molly.

John Henry Menton knows the face of Bloom. Fell foul of him one evening. Still recognizes the face. Menton had thought Molly a finelooking woman, danced with her, "a good armful she was" 15-17 golden years ago.

Milly is 15.

Bloom was a traveler for blottingpaper.

A blot can be defined as "to stain or ruin one's reputation .to spoil one's reputation by making a mistake, offending against social customs, etc"

In googling, I found an older definition of blotting paper..."used to correct or over mistakes."

Bloom was a traveler for blottingpaper. He covered up Molly's blot.

Menton says, "She had plenty of game in her then."

--Has still, Ned Lambert said.

MIGHT Molly have had an affair with Ned Lambert?

Well... it crossed my mind.






** (I just liked this, as we just read Richard II.) In Shakespeare's King Richard II the Queen asks her retinue what sport they can play to lighten the mood - "Madam, we'll play at bowls,"

Adelle wrote: "MIGHT Molly have had an affair with Ned Lambert?"

I thought that too. Wished I could hear the inflection in Ned's voice, or see if he accompanied those two words with a wink.

And nice comment at 25.

Zippy wrote: "Adelle wrote: "MIGHT Molly have had an affair with Ned Lambert?"

I thought that too. Wished I could hear the inflection in Ned's voice, or see if he accompanied those two words with a wink.

And n..."

I'm with you, Zippy. Too bad emoticons hadn't been invented yet, eh?

(is joke. is little joke.)

Am now writing up my re-thinking on Bloom. Should be done in an hour or so. Darn Hades, pulled me back in.

Adelle wrote: "In googling, I found an older definition of blotting paper..."used to correct or over mistakes."

Bloom was a traveler for blottingpaper. He covered up Molly's blot.

Menton says, "She had plenty of game in her then."

--Has still, Ned Lambert said.

MIGHT Molly have had an affair with Ned Lambert?"

Oooh. Nice inference there, Adelle. I noticed Ned's remark about how Molly still has "plenty of game in her", but your "blotting paper" reference is intriguing.

Adelle wrote: "...And I can't find it, but there's a phrase: "drowned Barabbas." I wondered, "What can THAT mean? Wasn't Barabbas hung?" I googled around. There was a Christopher Marlowe play, The Jew of Malta, with a drowned Barabbas. ..."

Well, I think of Barabbas this way: "Barabbas... is a figure in the accounts of the Passion of Christ, in which he is the insurrectionary whom Pontius Pilate freed at the Passover feast in Jerusalem, instead of Jesus."

There are undoubtedly additional legends, one or more of which Joyce may be using, including the Marlowe play you cite. I haven't checked Gifford.

See Matthew 27:18-26. There are parallel, but not necessarily collaborative, accounts in other gospels.

Matthew 27:18-26 (for length only) (view spoiler)[ (for length only)

18 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21 The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ 22 Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’* All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ 23 Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’

24 So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood;* see to it yourselves.’ 25 Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ 26 So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
(hide spoiler)]

Drowning apparently had a particular significances. I haven't pursued that -- am seeing traces of it in Catton's The Luminaries. Will try to remember to return if find more. Or perhaps others here know....

Adelle wrote: "My comments have no resolution.
And I found this line: "Mourning coaches drawn up drowning their grief."
Somehow/some way, I want the drownings to mean something. "

Wouldn't it be nice to have a concordance to Ulysses? And hey presto! there is one -- listed by Thomas in the resources thread

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/conco...

I looked up drown/drowned/drowning but the work remains of piecing it all together.

I'm having trouble keeping characters straight. Does anyone have some reading tricks to suggest? Kathy?

Linda wrote: "Oooh. Nice inference there, Adelle. I noticed Ned's remark about how Molly still has "plenty of game in her", but your "blotting paper" reference is intriguing. ..."

Thank you, Linda. When it popped as a possible for me, I was "oooh," too. I thought, hey! But, probably like Zippy, it was that "--Has still" that snagged my initial attention.

Hope you can find out more on drownings, Lily.

There's... something... We drown our sorrows in alcohol? So we don't think about things? But the body of thoughts re-surfaces?

I don't know.

Good luck!

Charles wrote: "Adelle wrote: ".
Wouldn't it be nice to have a concordance to Ulysses? And hey presto! there is one -- listed by Thomas in the resources thread

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/conco....."

Thanks, Charles. I KNEW Thomas had posted that somewhere... but I misremembered exactly where.

Lily wrote: "I'm having trouble keeping characters straight. Does anyone have some reading tricks to suggest? Kathy?"

Well, I don't. Here's a discussion about Cunningham, and I think "Now who the heck is Cunningham?" It's one thing to remember Mulligan or Blazes Boylan. It's another to keep straight all the bazillions of others Bloom runs across.

I always relied on the original guide by Stuart Gilbert.

Adelle wrote: "Charles wrote: "Adelle wrote: ".
Wouldn't it be nice to have a concordance to Ulysses? And hey presto! there is one -- listed by Thomas in the resources thread

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/con..."

Please re-enter that link, Adelle, rather than forcing me to locate Charles's post. :-0

Presume you know about these (overloads):
Ulysses Annotated
James Joyce's Ulysses: A Study.

I dabble with the first, but for me it is too much at this point. If I want to get through Ulysses finally, I need to enjoy it, rather than study it.

P.S. -- I think this is it (@32):
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/conco...

"Drown Barabbas!" is what Simon Dedalus says while Bloom is trying to tell the story about Reuben J. Dodd's son being saved from drowning. "I wish to Christ he did!"

Barabbas was saved, of course, like Dodd's son. But with Bloom sitting in the carriage it highlights the level of Simon Dedalus's bigotry and ignorance.

Thomas wrote: "...But with Bloom sitting in the carriage it highlights the level of Simon Dedalus's bigotry and ignorance...."

Isn't that the universal issue for each of us who rejects at least certain aspects of our patrimony?

Lily wrote: "Adelle wrote: "Charles wrote: "Adelle wrote: ".
Wouldn't it be nice to have a concordance to Ulysses? And hey presto! there is one -- listed by Thomas in the resources thread

http://www.doc.ic.ac..."

Yes, that's it.

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/conco...

And... I'm with you... I really love background and side info... but ... if I tried to look everything up I would never finish.

Lily wrote: "I'm having trouble keeping characters straight. Does anyone have some reading tricks to suggest? Kathy?"

I have no tricks other than a careful reading of everything Joyce wrote prior to Ulysses, but the Shmoop character summary is a good quick reference:
http://www.shmoop.com/ulysses-joyce/c...

James Joyce A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Writings is more in depth. A nice companion if you can pick it up at the library, or the bargain bin as I did many years ago.

Lily wrote: "Thomas wrote: "...But with Bloom sitting in the carriage it highlights the level of Simon Dedalus's bigotry and ignorance...."

Isn't that the universal issue for each of us who rejects at least certain aspects of our patrimony? "

I'm not sure what you mean. Whose patrimony? Which patrimony? As far as I can tell, Simon Dedalus is an anti-semite, and typical of Christian anti-semites his understanding of his own religion is wafer thin. But I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about...

Thomas wrote: "...But I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about......"

I was thinking about those aspects of my father's thinking that I have absolutely rejected, even as there are others that I have whole heartedly embraced. Sort of along the lines of those here who have talked about coming to their own positions about religion, but at the same time being willing to not denigrate their parents' views. And some places we must make the split or at least attempt to make different the present and the generations to follow.

Lily wrote: "Thomas wrote: "...But I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about......"

I was thinking about those aspects of my father's thinking that I have absolutely rejected, even as there are others t..."

About Simon Dedalus I recall very little. Was there anywhere he was recorded as being overbearing about his views? Of pushing them on Stephen? That has a lot to do with not denigrating a parent's views, if the only way you can reject the views is to reject the parent also.

Was Bloom's dead son in any sense saved? That would seem to me somewhat contrary to Bloom's way of thinking. He's a secular man.

At 8 Susan wrote: " I don't think Bloom sees Molly in the same way he sees the girls on the street...."

I've noted that, too, Susan... but there's something about your post that ... shifted... my thinking on Bloom... just a tad. I think because you wrote that he loved Molly.

Supposition: I think I reference something from Hades. Not sure. Otherwise, no spoilers. (view spoiler)[

So... I think, of course, that Bloom has all sorts of psychological/emotional issues. Consider this:

Bloom loves Molly. (There are strong suggestions of that every so often.) But Bloom knows that Molly was pregnant when he married her. Maybe he wasn't aware of that when he married her. Was Millie his daughter? Does he wonder? He refers at some point (Hades, I think) to Rudy being HIS son; Millie being HER daughter.

So maybe because Bloom loves Molly, or... he appreciates that Molly married him over the others... or... Bloom was raised with strict sexual restrictions and carries with him inner conflictions over his and Molly's pre-marital relations (or... maybe only Molly's pre-marital relations???) ...

Maybe Bloom thereby has some variation of the Madonna(Molly)/whore complex.

He REFUSES [on the surface] to allow himself to think negatively about Molly. He refuses to really allow himself to think that she is having --- or had, or might have -- affairs.

But he DOES know. So he takes his anger, or his contempt for women (who might engage in sex outside the proper parameters, i.e., Molly) and he projects this feeling, this dislike, this anger towards other women.

Maybe that's why he can think of the neighbor girl in the butcher shop as nothing more than a piece of meat.

{Because I still believe that inner dialogue shows something "off" with Bloom. The issue isn't that Bloom is thinking of sex. It's that he so dehumanizes the girl when thinking of sex. Anger or resentment or strict sexual parameters that deep down Bloom can't really put aside. I don't know. But I can see that belittles her to himself when thinking about her and the policeman. "O please, Mr. Policeman."


Looks to me as though Bloom might have some sort of Good Girl/Bad Girl complex... and that because he can't emotionally afford for Molly to be the Bad Girl... his thoughts on all the potential Bad Girls reflect his increasing concerns regarding Molly.

(hide spoiler)]

Edit added: Wait! I got more!

No spoilers.

(view spoiler)[

I love this theory! (It may be crap.) Just occurred to me.

An explanation as to why there was that women-are-animals-and-especially-if-they-cuddle-with-constables-"O please, Mr Policeman."

Little Rudy. "From me. Just a chance." (Sad, sad, sad. Bloom knows, really, that it was just a chance event that led Bloom being the father of Rudy. It wasn't Molly wanting Bloom. Oh, Darling, I love you, take me now. No. That's not how it was.

"Must have been that morning in Raymond terrace she was at the window. (Wearing that gown with the rip... she never stitched up that gown. Too lazy? Or...where was that rip? And did she expose herself as she stood at the window?)

...watching the two dogs at it [sex] by the wall of cease to do evil. [Is that "cease to do evil" in Bloom's head. An interior admonition. His superego passing judgment?]

And the sergeant grinning up."

I think this explains a lot. Bloom... Molly sess the dogs have sex and wants sex. {Women are sexual animals. Think about them that way.} What's the sergeant grinning about? Does he see a part of Molly he shouldn't be seeing? Has he and Molly had a physical relationship? And he's remembering it, hence the grin?

And Molly... not a word about how it's Bloom she's thinking about. Pure physical need... prompted by the sight of dogs coupling and a constable grinning: "Give us a touch, Poldy, I'm dying for it." Not dying for YOUR touch.

And... Rudy.

The thought of Rudy might, I think, have returned Bloom to his Jewish roots. Thinking about Rudy, his son, Bloom thinks about how he could have had Rudy learn German.

So...I'm thinking that Bloom's father was a German-speaking Jew. In an earlier chapter---can't recall which one--- German words were leaking into the text. Little bits of Bloom's repressed heritage floating up to the surface?

Anyway... might shed some light on that butcher shop scene and Bloom's seeming overreaction to seeing the girl cuddle with the constable.

(hide spoiler)]

Regarding sexuality again -- there is that problem of the peculiar relationship with Martha Clifford, and that equally peculiar letter "Flower" received. How could such a relationship have gotten started? They both fantasize about meeting in person I doubt either would seriously propose that. Only to be titillating. She seems as deep into it as he is. Already we have seen Bloom's life is littered with irregular relationships. What to come?

Incidentally, Bloom goes to some lengths to avoid being seen reading Martha's letter. I have the impression of a small community where one is likely to meet an acquaintance at any moment and everyone is exceedingly nosy. Socially claustrophobic. I think we can say Stephen feels that. Does Bloom? Or is it just that he wants to savor reading the letter alone? He even extracts the pressed flower by touch from within the letter's hiding place inside his newspaper. All very hothouse, I think. Exaggeratedly so by preference.

And then there is Bloom's contempt for the pin. I don't know what to make of that at all. Anything?

Charles wrote: "Regarding sexuality again -- there is that problem of the peculiar relationship with Martha Clifford, and that equally peculiar letter "Flower" received. How could such a relationship have gotten s..."

Mmmm. Will mull on that today.

The chapter is Hades and Bloom’s in Hell.

I think this scene from the Calypso chapter gives a good insight into how anti-Semitism affects Bloom in his head. We don’t get to see much of Bloom’s interiority in Hades in the scenes in which he is most affected… So I post this one… so we can imagine what it must be like for Bloom in Hades.

I felt for Bloom when that guy ignored him when Bloom said hello.

No spoiler. (view spoiler)[ {Calypso.} Bloom is thinking on the planter’s company… The oranges. “Crates line up on the quayside at Jaffa, chap ticking them off in a book, navies handling them in soiled dungarees. “

Then… in the audio the next bit is interior thinking: “There’s whatdoyoucallhim out of. How do you? Doesn’t see. Chap you know just to salute bit of a bore….”

OK. I think this is our first (2nd:, probably) look at Bloom experiencing anti-Semitism. Bloom is in the middle of thinking about Jaffa. A historically Jewish city. Bloom said “How do you?” And the man ignored him. I think the man ignored Bloom because Bloom is Jewish. I think Bloom tries to smooth that over in his own thoughts… Doesn’t want to think that. So he says to himself: “Doesn’t see.”

Nicely ambiguous, yes? Bloom trying to rationalize the snub by saying to himself that the man didn’t see him. Joyce telling the reader that Bloom himself doesn’t see. Because he won’t allow himself to. He pushes it down. He pushes it down. He pushes it down. But bodies pushed under the surface eventually pop up. And they’ll be ugly when they do.



And we see that psychologically it’s right here, right here, that Bloom’s sunny, contented world-view changes. “A cloud began to cover the sun wholly slowly wholly. Grey.” And his image of cattle in silver heat, and silvered olive trees and perfect oranges, nice to hold and smell” is gone.

That lovely image is suddenly (after he’s been [rudely] ignored/rebuffed for who he "is"---*See below) is transformed to “A barren land, bare waste....the grey sunken cunt of the world. Desolation. Grey horror seared his flesh.”

And it seems to me that Bloom tries to right himself emotionally. To … calm himself in his head. It seems to me, that Bloom talks in his head all time to stop himself from thinking...what he doesn't want to allow himself to think. Thought, thought, thought… ah…. He’s calmer now. “Be near her ample bedwarmed flesh. Yes, yes.” And sunlight, and a girl with gold hair on the wind. Ah…

He’s found his way back the safety of his island.

Sigh. And it is an island. Oh, wow. That would be a long write-up, wouldn’t it?

* HIS VERY PERSONHOOD IS IGNORED. Jewishness. AND BLOOM HIMSELF IS IGNORING/REPRESSING HIS JEWISHNESS. What happens when one won’t allow oneself to “be” who one is? Stephen Dedalus is struggling with this.



(hide spoiler)]


I felt for Bloom in Hades, too. Bloom’s Rudy.

Bloom’s father. The sadness. Poor little Rudy. Poor papa. Poor momma. And Bloom is such an outsider. {Sigh. All he really has is that cat. He should have got himself a dog. Cats tend to be rather aloof. }


No spoiler. (view spoiler)[“Martin Cunningham seated himself.” Mr. Power stepped in. Both these men know they belong. They act on their own volition. “—Come on, Simon.” “After you, Mr. Bloom said. “

Very solicitous is our Mr. Bloom. Very nice. “After you.” “Do you want that blind up?” “How’s that?”

Molly doesn’t treat him very nicely, does she? “Hurry up with that tea, she said. I’m parched.” She called down the stairs to him: “Poldy! (mmm… What does that nickname mean anyway?) Poldy! Scald the teapot. (mmm… They’ve been married 16 years. Surely Bloom knows how to make tea by now. She POINTS! She doesn’t deign to answer verbally… because she’s stuffing her face with bread and butter.

“Following the pointing of her finger he took up a leg of her soiled drawers from the bed. No? Then, a twisted grey (original color? Or grey from use?) garter looped round a stocking: rumpled, shiny sole.”

Bloom. Voglio e non vorrei. (I want to yet I shouldn’t. or…I will no longer serve.)

But Bloom serves.

“He stooped.” And I thought, boy, did he ever.

The book is sprawled against the chamberpot.

“She swallowed a draught of tea from her cup held by not-handle and, having wiped her fingertips smartly on the blanket… The pages aren’t simply marked, they’re “smudged.”

I’m sorry. Maybe Molly will show herself later in a better light. Right now, I thinking, Did Bloom, with his Jewish roots, not just come to eat pork, but did he marry a pig? I know! How vulgar of me to say. But… well… honestly, the thought crossed my mind. And Joyce is all for revealing what crosses the mind, eh?

They’re such unequals intellectually. She read the book… but she hasn’t understood it. And it’s not just the word “metempsychosis” she didn’t understand. She hasn’t understood the story itself. “Is she in love with the first fellow all the time?” Shouldn’t that be clear by the end of the book?

Well… I hadn’t initially meant to rant about Molly and Bloom. But found myself here. Went with it.

(hide spoiler)]

“Are we all here now? Martin Cunningham asked.”

(view spoiler)[

THERE ARE ONLY FOUR MEN TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR. JUST HOW INSIGNIFICANT TO CUNNINGHAM CAN BLOOM BE?

“Come along, Bloom.”

Simon might be a little lower on the social scale; he didn’t seat himself, but he’s called to join them. He’s called by his first name.

“Come along” to Bloom. It sounds as though he is outside the group. Almost the way one would address a child that needs directing. “Come along.” And he doesn’t even get a “Mr.” of respect. Somehow…I don’t think Bloom could say “Come along, Cunningham.”


“Martin Cunningham nudged Mr. Power.

--Of the tribe of Reuben, he said…….

--We have all been there… --Well, nearly all of us.

“Mr Bloom began to speak with sudden eagerness to his companions faces.”

I felt badly for Bloom here. He wants so badly to be one of them. Or to not be who he really is? He tries to tell a story about Reuben and son. So Bloom is Jewish, right? And he’s telling a “funny story” about a Jew so that the Gentiles can laugh and he can be one of them? And he can’t even tell it. They keep interrupting him. And Cunningham actually finishes the story.

--Isn’t it awfully good? Mr. Bloom said eagerly.. Sigh. He’s trying SO hard to fit in with them… or… pretend his not like Reuben.


And the scene with Hynes. Hynes has seemed to have been with the group that Bloom was with. “Hynes jotting down something in his notebook. Ah, the names. But he knows them all. No: coming to me..

So Bloom would have thought that Hynes would have known his name. But he didn’t. Bloom not worth his notice?

“—I am just taking the names, Hynes said below his breath. What is your Christian name? I’m not sure.”

(1) Is he speaking below his breath so that no one hears him talking to … that man, Bloom, a Jew? No one else there was described as speaking softly or quietly.

(2) Is the way Hynes phrases that question at jab at Bloom. “What’s your Christian name?”

I have a YouTube link to insert here.

And…Bloom learns that M’Coy had used him.


And…Bloom spoke politely to Menton to let him know about his hat.
“Excuse me, sir, Mr. Bloom said. “Your hat’s a little crushed.

And Menton just stares at him.

Martin Cunningham must say the words to Menton… Words from Bloom are unacceptable.

And they are walking towards the gates. “Mr. Bloom, chapfallen, drew behind a few paces so as not to overhear.” Bloom “says” he’s falling back so that he won’t hear Martin “laying down the law.” But… I think Bloom falls back so as not to overhear… Martin… because Martin would NOT being saying anything to defend Bloom or to offend Menton.



Sigh. I feel for Bloom. If Bloom in the Calypso chapter could be so down when he was rebuffed by the whodoyoucallhim that the sky of his imaginings went gray and there was desolation… well… in this chapter, although we don’t see the interior of Bloom when he’s ignored or rebuffed… {We see him focus, focus, focus on his nails… or he manages to make his face blank before talking to the others…}… Bloom must be well and truly in Hell.


(hide spoiler)]

Charles wrote: "...Was Bloom's dead son in any sense saved? That would seem to me somewhat contrary to Bloom's way of thinking. He's a secular man. ..."

Charles -- what do you mean by "saved"? If "saved" can in any sense mean having lived a life worth living, regardless of its length, isn't that as much a secular as a religious concept?

Now one might ask, is there such a thing as a life not worth living, and I have no defensible response to the question.