Read as far as "Mother of Moses!" (Penguin 297.18) (Gabler 10.463)
"In the Odyssey of Homer, the sorceress Circe tells Odysseus of the 'Wandering Rocks' or 'Roving Rocks' that have only been successfully passed by the Argo when homeward bound. These rocks smash ships and the remaining timbers are scattered by the sea or destroyed by flames. The rocks lie on one of two potential routes to Ithaca; the alternative, which is taken by Odysseus, leads to Scylla and Charybdis." (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planctae)
Here in Joyce's Ulysses, the wandering rocks seem quite harmless. So far. Last week we met one of them, the very reverend John Conmee S. J. Today we met a bevy of rocks that were wandering: among others Corny Kelleher, constable 57C, a onelegged sailor, Ned Lambert, J. J. O'Molloy, Katey, Boody and Maggy Dedalus, Blazes Boylan, Almidano Artifoni, Stephen, Miss Dunne, a blond salesgirl and a clergyman. We were also told about a white arm that flung forth a coin from a window in Eccles street, meant for the onelegged sailor's cap and we met again the five sandwichmen advertising for H. E. L. Y. 'S. We have met most of them in earlier episodes, and some of them we had met as we followed the very reverend John Conmee S. J. on his morning stroll today. Joyce has structured the episode almost like a movie with all its technical possibilities for flashbacks, juxtaposition of events that occur simultaneously at unconnected places. This is a natural result of Joyce's interest in cinema. (He even ventured to open a cinema theater in Dublin after a chance remark from his sister Eva visiting Trieste that there were no cinemas in Dublin.)
Here are a few titbits about the various characters we met on these pages: The interaction between Kelleher and the constable 57C hints at the rumor that Kelleher is a police informant. The onelegged sailor is an ex navy man. That he is now onelegged explains his swinging himself violently, growling, etc while he sings the song. 'For England.' The part over Katey, Boody and Maggy Dedalus underscores the poverty of the Dedalus household. Stephen's pleasant exchanges with the music teacher, Almidano Artifoni, tells us that Stephen has a melodious voice, which he has neglected in the recent months. Perhaps the most dandy figure we met is that of Blazes Boylan. This is the first time we really come across Boylan though Joyce had allowed glimpses of him during the episode, Hades. When we meet him, a blond sales girl is arranging for him a wicker basket with a bottle swathed in pink tissue paper, a small jar, fat pears and shamefaced peaches.
Though Boylan tells the sales girl that the basket is for an invalid, it is obviously meant for Molly Bloom with whom Boylan has a rendezvous later in the afternoon. In a couple of pages, Joyce has portrayed Boylan so as to leave no doubts about what a dandy he is. It is left to the typewriter of Miss Dunne, Boylan's secretary, to reveal to us the date - 16 June 1904 - on which the events of this masterpiece take place.
Note: The current issue (date: April 2, 2015) of the New York Review of Books carries a review of the book, 'The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses' by Kevin Birmingham. The review by Adam Thirlwell also supplies interesting background information.
"In the Odyssey of Homer, the sorceress Circe tells Odysseus of the 'Wandering Rocks' or 'Roving Rocks' that have only been successfully passed by the Argo when homeward bound. These rocks smash ships and the remaining timbers are scattered by the sea or destroyed by flames. The rocks lie on one of two potential routes to Ithaca; the alternative, which is taken by Odysseus, leads to Scylla and Charybdis." (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planctae)
Here in Joyce's Ulysses, the wandering rocks seem quite harmless. So far. Last week we met one of them, the very reverend John Conmee S. J. Today we met a bevy of rocks that were wandering: among others Corny Kelleher, constable 57C, a onelegged sailor, Ned Lambert, J. J. O'Molloy, Katey, Boody and Maggy Dedalus, Blazes Boylan, Almidano Artifoni, Stephen, Miss Dunne, a blond salesgirl and a clergyman. We were also told about a white arm that flung forth a coin from a window in Eccles street, meant for the onelegged sailor's cap and we met again the five sandwichmen advertising for H. E. L. Y. 'S. We have met most of them in earlier episodes, and some of them we had met as we followed the very reverend John Conmee S. J. on his morning stroll today. Joyce has structured the episode almost like a movie with all its technical possibilities for flashbacks, juxtaposition of events that occur simultaneously at unconnected places. This is a natural result of Joyce's interest in cinema. (He even ventured to open a cinema theater in Dublin after a chance remark from his sister Eva visiting Trieste that there were no cinemas in Dublin.)
Here are a few titbits about the various characters we met on these pages: The interaction between Kelleher and the constable 57C hints at the rumor that Kelleher is a police informant. The onelegged sailor is an ex navy man. That he is now onelegged explains his swinging himself violently, growling, etc while he sings the song. 'For England.' The part over Katey, Boody and Maggy Dedalus underscores the poverty of the Dedalus household. Stephen's pleasant exchanges with the music teacher, Almidano Artifoni, tells us that Stephen has a melodious voice, which he has neglected in the recent months. Perhaps the most dandy figure we met is that of Blazes Boylan. This is the first time we really come across Boylan though Joyce had allowed glimpses of him during the episode, Hades. When we meet him, a blond sales girl is arranging for him a wicker basket with a bottle swathed in pink tissue paper, a small jar, fat pears and shamefaced peaches.
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| Shamefaced peaches! |
Note: The current issue (date: April 2, 2015) of the New York Review of Books carries a review of the book, 'The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses' by Kevin Birmingham. The review by Adam Thirlwell also supplies interesting background information.
