The art of imitation...

In Episode 18, Molly reveals that her daughter Milly is very similar to the way that she was when she was Milly’s age. The shared likeness of mother and daughter makes the death of Rudy even more apparent as Bloom has no son to emulate him and take after him. Even thought Bloom attempts to foster a relationship between himself and Stephen, Milly is firmly secured to Molly. While Molly expresses slight jealously at Milly writing her father long letters while she is away and not including her, Molly knows that Milly is her daughter in every sense of the word. Not only are there names almost the exact same, but Milly’s behavior mimics the actions of her mother.

There seems to be an underlying competition between Molly and Milly in the final episode of the novel. Molly thinks about the times when Milly was still in the house with her and Bloom and the comments she would make regarding her mother’s appearance. Milly would tell her mother, “your blouse is open too low she says to me the pan calling the kettle blackbottom” (767). Milly recognizes and comments on Molly’s blatant sexuality and yet, can’t help but imitate her mother’s behavior. Molly, too, feels the need to remark about her daughter’s appearance and burgeoning sexuality. She thinks to herself about Milly, “her tongue is a bit too long for my taste” (767). Molly seems to hold a complicated perspective towards Milly: she wants her to enjoy her experiences but at the same time, there is an underlying jealousy and competition between mother and daughter that occasionally surfaces and reveals itself.

Milly will no doubt follow her mother’s example and become, we can only assume, very much like Molly. Bloom is surrounded by Molly…even his daughter will become almost identical to his adulterous and sexual wife. We see that Molly will live on in Milly but where does this leave Bloom?

Molly the Pure

Upon the conclusion of the last episode, I have come to realize that my views of the characters in Ulysses have changed radically over the course of the novel. The point of view of a single character was not enough to fully define Stephen, Bloom, or even Molly.

Up until the last episode, Molly is characterized as an overtly promiscuous woman. Through the views of Bloom and the people he encounters over the course of the day, I thought of Molly as nothing more than a static character: an unfaithful wife.

We proceed through the novel with this viewpoint of Molly. Even Bloom, who lists her suitors in episode 17, doesn’t fully realize the Molly’s first act of infidelity was with Boylan. I did not apprehend Molly’s actions were a collective result of the aloofness of Bloom and lack of affection ever since the death of Rudy, but that she simply just exuded sex. I had already defined her as nothing more than an adulterer.

With this realization, I thought back to my preconceived notions of Bloom and Stephen. My views and how I characterized them were not based upon solely on their internal monologue, but more heavily based on how other characters in the novel viewed them. With Bloom in particular, we see conflicting characterizations as we are exposed to the novel’s protagonists.

The amalgamation of different viewpoints was necessary to understand each character. How I perceived Molly and how my definition of her was altered in the last episode was consistent with the change in my preconceptions and characterizations of the other main characters, and is what I should have expected from Joyce’s narrative.

happiness

on the topic of our main characters' happiness, i would daresay that none of the three (stephen, bloom, molly) is genuinely happy...

stephen is still mournfully moping around on account of his mother's death. he allows himself to be controlled by others (e.g. giving both money and housekey to mulligan). he seems to be overruled by his students in the classroom. he sees his own childhood in the pathetic face of one of his students, cyril sargent. he doesn't really even believe himself (e.g. when asked about his own view of his hamlet theory). like bloom, he doesn't stand up for himself (e.g. when mulligan asks for the housekey or when he feels left out having not been invited to the poet gathering). he evidently turns to drink to alleviate his misery, but then this only digs him into deeper trouble (e.g. with bella cohen and with the privates). he doesn't put much stake in his job or responsibilities as we see him tell his friend in the street that mr. deasy's school should have an opening for a teacher soon. he is apathetic throughout much of his conversation with bloom, and although he seems to cheer up from time to time... he overall demeanor seems hopeless.

bloom, as we have discussed, is also a victim of usurpation. he allows himself to be cuckholded by his wife, and the whole town knows it. i feel as though bloom tries to put on a happy face and go on with his life by ignoring his hurt. he knows about his wife's affair, and i suppose he knows that molly knows that he knows about the affair, yet he doesn't confront her about it. instead, he continues to let it happen, all the while allowing it fester in his mind throughout the whole day. he simply can't take his mind off of it. everything reminds him of molly. he is also frequently reminded of his son's premature death, and this is obviously another source of depression for bloom. like i said, i feel like he outwardly maintains a facade of content, but i think his deeper psychological feelings escape in episode fifteen. i tend to see his hallucinations in episode fifteen as manifestations of his repressed feelings (e.g. the transformation of himself into a woman represents his relationship with molly, the elevation of himself to a position of power perhaps represents a desire to make something greater of his life, the apparition of his deceased son addresses his sadness at never having been able to father a boy and pass on his lineage, etc.). however, bloom puts great priority in his responsibilities (e.g. securing advertisements for the paper, helping the dignam family, visiting the hospital on account of mrs. purefoy's childbearing), and maybe this is his way of taking his mind off of his problems and pushing forward with day to day life. thus, we see him take on a final responsibility of the day to help stephen through the night.

molly does not seem genuinely happy either, though perhaps she does the best of job of masking her unhappiness (or maybe it only seems this way because we are limited to one episode's worth of her thoughts). molly seems to simply take life as it comes to her. her lack of guilt allows her to be selfish; thus, getting her way in most situations prevents her from dwelling too much on her troubles. as we see in episode eighteen, when she begins to think about something depressing (i.e. rudy), she quickly tells herself to not dwell on such gloomy thoughts. thus, molly is not necessarily happy, but because she is always in control, she can sort of feign a certain sort of happiness/content to herself that prevents her from ever being too depressed... if that makes sense...

episode eighteen questions...

1. does molly's final perspective serve to change the way you view other characters/events? how so?

2. why does joyce choose to neglect punctuation in the final episode (save for the very last period)?

3. how do molly's thoughts differ from the thoughts of our other main characters (i.e. stephen and bloom)?

4. why does joyce give us only one chapter of molly?

Punctuation

The topic came up in class about what the period at the end of the 17th Chapter really meant, and the following lack of punctuation in chapter 18. The explanations we came up with were as follows
1.The big period represented unconsciousness of bloom at the end of the chapter
2.Big period meant "THE END"
3.Big period meant a big hole and that something was missing, in this case Molly's perspective

The lack of punctuation reasons we came up with were
1.No puncuation helps stream of consciousness
2.Molly cannot be "constrained" by punctuation
3.Ulysses "used up" all the ink allotted to punctuation.

Some other explanations i came up with were
1.The big period represents the "impotent void" to which bloom as banished the thought of Molly's suitors
2.The lack of punctuation is a "joke" by ulysses to represent his feeling that the book is getting long and needs to end, showing this by being lazy about punctuation. This is supported by the use of his name by molly essentially asking for the story to just end all ready

What do you guys think?

Abstraction

The point made in the Ithaca episode that Bloom is scientific while Stephen is artistic highlights a defining characteristic of Stephen- his tendency towards abstraction. There’s nothing wrong with this except that Stephen takes it so far that it cripples and diminishes his reality, his existence in the present. The artist, he thinks, must be free from all prisons, and so he abandons his family (a physical and psychological prison) to poverty. He chooses to follow his abstraction, his idea of what the artist should be, and so he must live with his conscience- referenced in his repetition of the phrase “agenbite of inwit”- which makes him miserable. His reality is one of suffering because he chooses to satisfy his abstract ideals.

While sitting in the hospital awaiting the birth of Mina Purefoy’s child, Buck says to Stephen that “it is as painful perhaps to be awakened from a vision as to be born.” As the one in the role of artist and prophet, Stephen is the one with the vision, the idea of how things should be. He is awakened repeatedly from it by reality, which does not always match up with his abstractions. He takes his name from his father Dedalus, and as the son of Dedalus he is likened to the figure of Icarus. Just as Icarus tried to fly too close to the sun and came crashing down, Stephen relies too much on abstraction and the power of his mind, and comes crashing down.

In the Circe episode we learn that Stephen broke his glasses yesterday. He cannot see clearly, physically and mentally. Because he is stuck with his abstractions, he ignores the reality of the way things really are. He guilt over his mother’s death shows in his fear of the lightning, which he perceives to be a reminder of his own death. Bloom, however, gives him the scientific explanation of lightning. Bloom is a lot more physical than Stephen. The first time we see him he is eating a kidney- he “ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls.” As his father figure, he balances out Stephen’s mentality. Stephen is the “beautiful ineffectual dreamer who comes to grief against hard facts” (184).

Usurpers

Usurpers play a huge role in unveiling the events of the day. There is an argument for almost every character to be a usurper in one way or another. Some of the obvious ones are Buck and Boylan. I would argue that our three main characters also have some usurper-like qualities about them, but of course Joyce doesn’t bring anything to closure as to who THE usurper of the novel is. With all this usurping going on, I’d like to lay out a few reasons I think the main characters might be called usurpers to maybe spark an idea for a paper topic (as I’m taking the test).

Stephen: Usurper of his mother’s faith. Buck criticizes him for this in Telemachus and I think Stephen is haunted by the ghost of his mother for this very reason. Stephen also somewhat usurps Bloom’s feelings of paternity for him by not reciprocating the connection as well as Bloom would like. I think the case for this is reinforced in Ithaca, as the differences between the two are more clearly defined (for instance in the song about the murderous Jewish daughter), and could provide an interesting spin on the way Stephen’s identity as Telemachus in the novel.

Molly & Bloom: We view most of the novel from Bloom’s side of the Boylan-Molly affair. Therefore, it is easy to call Molly a usurper of fidelity and of Bloom’s love, as we see the estrangement that has come upon Bloom as a result. However, in Penelope we get a taste of Molly’s side, and see that Bloom is wrong in his assumption of her having many suitors. Boylan is her first compromise of their marriage. She feels Bloom has distanced himself from her and may be having fun of his own. Having seen both sides now, I can see Molly and Bloom as being usurpers of each other. However, this doesn’t seem to drive them apart. Instead, Bloom comes to terms with Molly’s affair and Molly seems to choose Bloom at the end of Penelope.

Some Thoughts on Parallax

If I had to point to a single theme as the novel's most important, it would be parallax, but not for its obvious use to underscore the variation of observational perception.
The great challenge -- and one might say responsibility -- Joyce undertook in writing Ulysses was to present Ireland, Irish culture, and what it meant to be Irish in 1904 Dublin, in a manner that was both authentic and pleasing to EVERY Irishman. But Ulysses was not merely a regional production. Therefore Joyce had to present, as nearly as possible, his beloved native culture to the entire world without over-glamorizing but still offering thorough and complete coverage of it.
Yet there isanother audience a man of such confidence and brilliance writes for -- the future. Therefore Joyce had to balance the expectations of audiences across ideological, cultural, and temporal lines and produce a work that would not only appeal to each audience, but also, ideally, effect the same emotional reaction from each demographic of his readership.
Because the novel has sustained, and in fact grown, in popularity since the time of its publication, I would go as far as to project that Joyce included concept in parallax in the book because it was an issue foremost on his mind.
Anyone dig this?

Important Concepts from the text

For those who are taking the exam (and even those writing the papers) I figured this is as good of a forum as any to collectively gather thoughts on the main themes of the novel.

Immediately coming to mind are themes such as Agenbite of Inwit, Parallax, and metempsychosis. From what I have gathered from the text these are some of my interpretations, but this is a great way to start adding and commenting on ideas so we all have a good understanding of what should have been focused on from the epic.

Agenbite of Inwit discusses the idea of regret within one's conscious. This can be associated with all three main characters: Stephen, Bloom, and Molly. In Stephen's case his regret as not being as successful as a poet as he would have liked to be at this point in his lifetime, along with his thoughts on how to handle his younger sisters as they live in poverty and whether he should attempt to work to help them or to avoid being "drug down with them". Also included is Stephen's possible regret towards how he handled the death of his mother.

Parallax- Dealing with the view of different matters from more than one perspective. Not only does this help us to more deeply learn about the characters, but also to look into some truth into each matter. A couple examples that come to mind are everyone's thoughts towards Molly's possible affair and then her own reflection at the very end of the novel and the different perspectives on Stephen and Bloom. Not only Bloom's attempt at a more intimate relationship with Stephen that he does not reciprocate as Bloom may have wanted, and each minor character's view on each of them.

Idea of Paternity- Obviously this mostly focuses around Bloom and Stephen, Stephen and his lack of a relationship with Simon, then Bloom after the death of his son Rudy and his need for another "son".

Any and all other ideas are a great way to start developing thoughts as the semester comes to a close.

climax

we have discussed several episodes as representing the climax of joyce's novel, and so there really may be no definitive climactic episode. however, i feel like episode 15, circe, exemplifies the climax of the novel as it is the last action-packed scene before the novel drops off and winds down with the final three episodes.

episode 15 finally brings bloom and stephen together for an extended period of time, and we see bloom truly doing his best to look after stephen (his "son"). we see almost all of the characters from throughout the novel reappear in random situations, though it is sometimes difficult to discern whether these characters have actually reappeared or are simply being imagined. although we have seen some crazy things thus far, episode 15 definitely contains the craziest of the crazy. as we discussed in class, the whole scene portrayed throughout episode 15 is nightmarish, and i almost feel like the characters are in a war-zone.

i didn't particularly like episode 15, but i can accept it for what it is... a nonsensical string of events complete with plenty of drunken banter. wiki or no wiki, i do not understand half of what is being talked about in episode 15... but i feel like i'm not necessarily supposed to understand it. i mean, in reality, drunken banter often doesn't make sense. whereas much of the book tends to describe situations almost in slow motion, episode 15 runs at a much quicker pace. then, stephen is knocked out in the street, and the novel (as well as the long day) begins to taper toward it's end.

In response to clay...

I agree Joyce's undertaking is rich with a robust confidence. However, I don't know that his references are made with the purpose of being unintelligible to the rest of the world, as I believe T.S Elliot's The Wasteland was. The references are overwhelmingly Irish and personal. In bringing in the names of common people around the town and noting the physical setting of 1904 Dublin, it makes the book a standing relic of IRISH history, and I believe that was the point. To write a thoroughly IRISH classic to be cannonized in literary glory for all time. Allusions to endings or deaths reappear throughout the novel, and it seems Joyce's goal was to ensure that the Irish spirit captured in the novel, along with its physical artifacts, remain intact for as long as possible.
Furthermore, the "Irishness" of the book also seems to reveal an intent to overwhelm any specifically ENGLISH works. The obscure allusions throughout are clearly Irish, and often reflect the collective anti-English sentiment of the Irish people. This serves not so much as an attack against England, but to further ensure that it is an independent Ireland, in spirit and mind if not in reality, that is forever remembered.
In short, the fact Joyce believed he could cannonize Ireland with one wholly Irish novel. The fact he presumed greatness is a reflection of him being aware of his talents as well as his confidence in the Irish spirit. The references, though certainly obscure, don't flaunt knowledge as much as Irish pride.

Something that was mentioned in passing during class made me think….. Ulysses is generally considered one of the great epics of all time. This is what Joyce set out to accomplish. From the beginning of his decade long ordeal, Joyce wanted to create an epic novel that told the story of his Ireland. It was generally considered a success. What I wonder is whether this is common of the works that are considered “classics.” Did Melville intend for Moby Dick to become what is was or did the story develop somewhat on its own? How many authors set out with goals of leaving the masses in awe and how many write only for themselves? Given the overall tone in Ulysses, I would argue that Joyce set out with a bit of arrogance. He wanted to show everyone else what he knew and understood and what they never would. This is probably inherent to any “epic.” I just wonder how common that is in the rest of literary world.

a good influence...

Episode #17: Ithaca: We finally get to see Bloom and Stephen interacting with one another in an intimate, private setting without all of the distractions of Dublin interfering in their conversation and interrupting their attempts at forming a meaningful, sustainable relationship. It seems that, for the most part, over the course of the pair’s day in the city, Bloom kept attempting to connect with Stephen on a personal level and forge a friendship with the younger man that never really took hold. For example, when the two men meet up in the maternity hospital, Stephen has already been drinking at the pub and is well passed being able to hold a meaningful dialogue, as witnessed by his drunken rambling at the end of Episode 14. They then proceed to the brothel, where Stephen separates from Bloom and reunites later on even more intoxicated and unable to fulfill Bloom’s wishes of someone who he could really connect with.

Until reading this particular episode, it always appeared that Bloom was the instigator of the relationship between himself and the younger Stephen in order to replace his lost son Rudy and provide him the much needed paternal outlet that he has so desperately craved for all of these years. Stephen seemed to merely acquiesce to Bloom’s insistence that he watch over and help Stephen through the night. Bloom was the one who seemed invested in creating and maintaining a connection with Stephen.

However, in this Episode, it seems that Bloom does act as an influence to Stephen and is compared with some of the other significant people that have been threaded through the course of Stephen’s young life. After Bloom lights a candle to lead the pair throughout the house, Joyce plays on the idea of “lighting fire” and Stephen begins to think about the many people who have metaphorically illuminated his path. “Of what similar apparitions did Stephen think? / Of others elsewhere in other times who, kneeling on one knee or two, had kindled fires for him” (670). Some of the names that appear in the list are: Brother Michael, Father Butt, his sister Dilly, his mother, and his father, and now Bloom. Bloom joins the ranks of religious Fathers and immediate family members in the select group of people who have meant something meaningful and influential to Stephen. We see now that the burgeoning relationship between Bloom and Stephen is not one sided but rather has impacted Stephen as well. Another interesting thing about this passage is that the very institutions that have influenced Stephen the most are the very ones that he attempts to extricate himself from: religion and family. Perhaps to be a source of inspiration also implies becoming a source of burden, as well.

Dead Languages as a Bond

In Episode 17 Stephen and Blooms bond is exemplified by several interactions. One interaction in particular involves the Stephen and Bloom saying a phrase to each other in the respective "dying languages"(this is somewhat arguable regarding hebrew) of their culture.

"What fragments of verse from the ancient Hebrew and ancient Irish languages were cited with modulations of voice and translation of texts by guest to host and by host to guest?

By Stephen: SUIL, SUIL, SUIL ARUN, SUIL GO SIOCAIR AGUS SUIL GO CUIN (walk, walk, walk your way, walk in safety, walk with care).⁴³

By Bloom: KIFELOCH, HARIMON RAKATEJCH M’BAAD L’ZAMATEJCH⁴⁴ (thy temple amid thy hair is as a slice of pomegranate)."

These passages do not seem to have any particular significance regarding the plotline, but the fact that they utilized these dying languages gives them a certain link. Perhaps Joyce uses this occurance to represent how both of them feel somewhat distanced from their true heritage and the use of the languages is somewhat of a joint mourning. This shared mourning of their cultural distance provides another thread of commonality between Bloom and Stephen.
A somewhat weak interpretation of this exchange also suggests a re-enforcement of the father son bond. Hebrew and Jewish culture being the much older culture and Irish culture being significantly more recent.

Together: Bloom and Stephen (episode 17)

In Ithaca, the novel's 2nd to last episode, the reader is finally exposed to a situation where Bloom and Stephen are in a private, intimate environment where they can actually talk and interact on a one-on-one basis. However, it seems that Bloom is more in invested in the potential father-son relationship between himself and Stephen than Stephen is aware. The whole day Bloom has been essentially watching Stephen from afar and now that he is finally alone with Stephen he is attempting to foster a relationship between the two of them.
Although Stephen does reciprocate to an extent, the reader does not see the same anticipation in Stephen that Bloom posseses for spending time with Stephen. Unlike Telemachus who is searching for Odysessus, his long lost father, Stephen has stumbled across Bloom unintentionally as a source for parental guidance. On the other hand, Bloom's journey throughout the day has been in pursuit of Stephen
and has been driven by an underlying desire to serve as a potential father figure to a young man in need of guidance.
For Bloom, this episode not only mirrors Odysseus long awaited return to Ithaca because Bloom has also physically returned home but it also reflects Odysseus reemergence into the role he left as Telemachus' father. Odysseus is finally in a position to be Telemachus' father for the first time similar to how Bloom has finally connected enough with Stephen in this episode to provide him with advice and create a potential relationship that can be sustained in future days to come.

Cracked Looking Glass of the Servant

In the first spidoe Stephen points to Buck's mirror and says, "It is a symbol of Irish art. The cracked looking glass of the servant." This idea of art can be applied to the novel as a whole. Ulysses focuses not on historic royalty, the larger-than-life warriors, but on the servants, the commoners. Stephen calls himself, at one points, a servant of three masters.

His looking glass, then, his (and maybe therefore Joyce's?) art, is not reality but his reflection of reality. The novel's theme of parallax is exemplified in this metaphor. The mirror's imperfections and cracks are likened to different perspectives, different fragments of thoughts. The traditional epic has one narrator, but the importance Joyce places on the cracks of the mirror show in his choice of narration; the narrative displays multiplicity, seemingly disjointed ideas from various characters, and includes as question/answer episode, a hallucinatory episode, an episode written like a screenplay, etc.

When reading the line about the cracked looking glass I thought of a line in a T.S. Eliot poem I'd read for a previous class... "These fragments I have shored against my ruins." I'm probably missing a good bit of his meaning, but I took the fragments to be in the same vein as Joyce's cracked mirror, the fragments being different experiences. The modernist writers seem to be focused on the idea of reality as subjective. The idea of producing meaning from fragmentation, from a piece of the whole, is also exemplified in the book's structure- the twenty-four hour setting.

That's what I make of Stephen's line. I'm hesitant about it, however, because I don't understand why Joyce would say it's a symbol of Irish art, instead of a symbol of modern art, or simply art in general.

Ithaca Questions

1. Now that Bloom and Stephen are finally together does one believe that their interactions reflect a father-son relationship? Is one investing more in the other or view the relationship as more than it actually is?

2. How does the title Ithaca reflect what is going on in this episode?

3. How are Bloom and Stephen different yet the same? Whatdo you propose the oath their relationship will take in the future?

4. How is Joyce's style in this episode compare to previous episodes? Why does he choose to write this way for the 2nd to last episode? Does it relate to the content or the importance of what occurs in the second to last episode of this 24 hour novel?

Imitation: Molly, Milly and Boylan

    Boylan arrived early. Casual blue suit, light hat. He scaled the stairs with gentle ease. Milly! Go get some milk and meat. Better to preserve the façade.

            Mr. Boylan! – starting to enjoy fucking him. Music first? “Let’s get to it.” Smile like a mirror. Desire, shame at once. Maybe we’ll just sing. No. No going back.

            The routine was going well. Her voice on top of his. Rehearsing the climax of Bartell D’Arcy’s famous love ballad. The melody flows smoothly, seamless nohw. There are traces of love in his pitch. But not in his tempo, too rough; made her feel cheap, their tryst a simple exchange of favors.

            What was Boylan, Who was her husband? Music couldn’t atone for everything. Too much pain, too many reminders all about. Bloom’s suffocating foreskin, his unbearable deference, limitless as his ignorance. All of it depressed her, even Milly. Maybe her mother had been right, maybe -- it was time to embrace and hear about his struggles. Money squabbles, paranoia and, of course, his unfulfilled dreams. Men always had such unreasonable goals. But then, what else did one have?

            She glanced at the two photos on the dresser. The life she chose and the dreams it stole. They co-existed in a peaceful way. The pictures, like the dreams behind them, had had the best of intentions; they never quarreled then, no sense starting now.

            Milly. Her voice radiated in the day. Tickled even the most decrepit soul. Perhaps the vessel intended to deliver Molly’s inner-most hopes. But it was round two, and Boylan was filling the holes at present.

            Milly had heard the muffled pleasure sounds before, but the carnal euphoria went without restraint in her absence. Grizzly noise. Shrill smack of flesh. Too vivid. Something had to be done.

            Milly approached her mother’s room. Sinful door. Illusions of human fancy unwittingly brittle on each side. Mommy near climax.

            The filth was thicker under Milly’s gaze. Ego death. Masses of tangled humanity connected my intimate flesh. His throbbing erection. Her grateful vagina, slathered in the juices of love. Extensive pause broken, privacy restored.

            Molly lay in the sweat. Stunk of heartbreak. Dresser. White gown, fans and the charcoal piano player; the comfort of promise. Loose gown, three forms and two smiles of naïve idealism. THE END.

            Made the mirror. Womanly curves, mother’s daughter to the eye. Father’s portrait in the reflection. Pity over her left shoulder. Subdued orgasms scratching her soul’s left ear.

            They finished. She came. He inside of her. Her idea. Faked it. She more than he.

            Down the stairs, out the door – And where? Darkness setting in. Her father’s hat. Bobbing with a gay purity. She would wait for him inside his gate.

            Upstairs practicing was over. She hoped music would go on. Did it for the music anyhow. Voice slipped, needed a talented partner -- Right? Professional departure, formal greeting. Three souls at dinner. A portrait. THIS is life then? The End?

Joyce Imitation: Father Conmee

Hours Later The Very Reverend John Conmee returned to his old Jesuit Chapel at Clongowes Wood College to read and think back on his lovely day. Erroris ex humanis, profiteer quod penitentia est optimus via oro per Deus. He recants of the couple protruding from the light bush and the one-legged sailor. He thinks about the priestly duty to bless all of God’s children even though some make wrong decisions. This sailor clearly was one of them.

- Those who sin must recant to remain in God’s light to keep away from the darkness of Lucifer.

He reaches back in his satchel for a book which reminded him much of Ave as he sits in the rectory. As he flips page after page, solemnly he reminisces about those in the unfortunate lands inhabited by the unbaptized ones. He ponders whether there are Jesuit monasteries in those lands for the colored men and women so that they may be saved from eternal punishment. The romantics reveled the meaning of those who were not baptized. He knows that those of Dublin have him to confide in with their troubles.

As he begins to read again he hears the opening of the parish door behind him. He had always looked in favor of those who pray daily and visit the church. Turning to see who has graced him with their presence, he notices that it is McDonnell, a man he had once met at a gathering at the house of Mrs. Michaels originally from the Welshland. Conmee tipped his hat to McDonnell as he dipped his hand in holy water and did the sign of the cross. Interesting, the priest thought as McDonnell slowly approached him with the scent of Guinness on his breath.

- I am looking to be healed, are you free for confession?

Getting up quietly, he gestured McDonnell over to the booth as he entered. McDonnell opened the door on the other side of the confession booth and noisily sat down on the other side of the divider.

- Et nomine Patris, et Fili, et Spiriti Sancte...

Seeming impatient, McDonnell interrupts Father Conmee as if in a hurry to repent his sins. The priest, thinking back to his first encounter with the Dedalus boy, thinks of those who do not put God as their savior and the inevitable afterlife that men like him will unfortunately lead. Unlike Dignam, sileo in pacis, when Stephen dies God will not be there to take away his sins and lead him to heaven.

- What is it my son, what are your sins?

McDonnell portrays a long, seemingly vague story about a man who has coveted his wife who is of the Jewish descent, hailing from Germany. As the holy priest listens in on this man’s tale, with hatred in his voice, Father thinks on how men and woman commit acts upon those who are married. What condescending thoughts. As the priest finished up the confession with the drunken man, all Father Conmee can think about is his pity rather than sympathy for this man. How well I am respected in this community are his final thoughts.

joyce imitation: dilly dedalus

Mourir. Mourant. Mort.
Partir, c’est mourir un peu.

Dilly lingered longingly over the tattered pages of the Chardenal’s French primer. Silly to splurge. Precious little we have. Ought not waste for wont of selfish indulgences. Have nothing but scanty scraps on which to live. Already sold most of Stephen’s abandoned books for a beggarly sum of a few bobs. And can’t bear to beg Sister Mary Patrick again… Oh! But what left? Kitty and Boody. Must manage this morning to make some meager change before my regretful return to our hollow home.

Boire. Buvant. Bu.
Quand le vi nest tire, il faut le boire.

Father? Perhaps pity will prompt him to provide a paltry few for his own penniless progeny. Not promising. Reckon he’s up at the Scotch House on William’s row right now as I stand at this spot. Sickens me to seek charity on so many occasions, but I know he squanders his skimpy savings on such sinful drink. But what left?!

Manger. Mangeant. Mangé.
Il faut manger pour vivre, et non vivre pour manger.

Clipclop. Clipclop.
A horse-drawn carriage careened ‘round the cobbled corner, stealing Dilly’s attention. Her gloomy gaze, drifting upward from the Chardenal’s French primer, watched the carriage clipclop down the course before settling upon a solitary bird across the way, hopping happily about beneath the bent boughs of a big tree. Dilly watched as the tiny creature burrowed it’s bitty beak into the damp dirt amid the dewsoaked grass. Searching the soft soil for a wiggly worm with which to feed it’s waiting young, the seablue bird finally found a good grub. Gracefully, the feathered friend flew up to find a fitting branch where it rested for a moment before returning to it’s short-neglected nest.

Even birds not for wont of food, thought Dilly.

Vivre. Vivant. Vécu.
L’espoir fait vivre.