This concise, mathematical, question/ answer approach of narration seems fitting to expand Joyce’s commentary on language, taking the opposite path to degradation of language in oxen of the sun (ending in slang gibberish). This sort of technical language was created and seems to be used for the sake of a succinct, clear expression but Joyce’s use of it elucidates the absurdity. It seems the more concise the word the less understandable the definition (and also, less people are familiar with these definitions.) In an attempt to bring the signified and the signifier closer, this sort of language pushes them farther apart.
And like the feigned attempt of the language to bring together the signified / signifier (which could also be looked at as metaphoric for Stephen and Bloom’s representation of the ideal / corporeal) Stephen and Bloom’s attempt at connection seems more superimposed then organic. Here we really see the two drastically different minds: one, of Stephen the artist, and the other, of Bloom the “scientist.” They even hear the sound of the bells differently (is Joyce inferring here that pre-reflectivity does not exist (if our sound is even shaped by memory/ ego?)
But all of that aside, given Joyce’s view of the absurdity of language, it seems that he would want Stephen and Bloom to connect in a space the transcends language . And they do. “Was this affirmation apprehended by Bloom? / Not verbally. Substantially” (697). This corresponds with their exchanged look in the previous chapter.
Which brings me to the repeated use of opposites, or antinomies in this chapter. The neverchanging / everychanging water, the scientific / artistic, the real / imaginary, the move from the known to the unknown. In Bloom, Stephen hears a profound accumulation of the past. In Stephen, Boom sees predestination of a future. In order for completion, the opposite must be with in its own opposite. This is brought to light with the mention of St. Johns of Damascus. According to the Bloomsday book, St. John’s Trinitarian theology, “develops the conception of circumincession in order to express the InnerTrinitarian relations. And circumincession means the reciprocal existence of the persons of the Trinity in one another.” So the relationship is reciprocal.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
oxen (d)evolution ideal real
‘Deshil Holles Eamus’ seems to be mimicked in the writing style of the long paragraph that follows. The language pushes me forward but the logic feels circular. I feel the perhaps, downward, spiral of the perpetuation of the human species. According to Christians, we were made in God’s image, starting out perfect, but then after the fall, where Eve took the apple of sin and thus was cursed with pain during childbirth, we evolve or devolve; we are moving away from God. As everyone knows, Darwin, and modern science, sees it the other way. This episode doesn’t seem to take a standpoint. The two ideas just battle themselves out.
This seems to be somewhat evoked in the ‘somewhat indecipherable’ paragraph on the first page (383).
“matters most profitable…to be studied…in doctrine erudite…high mind’s ornament…other circumstances being equal by no exterior splendor…prosperity of a nation..the original..might not be in the future not wit h similar excellence…procreating function…”
From these little clips, I get evolution, devolution, and the ideal / real dichotomy, which is represented in birth, the virgin birth, and also, the birth of Mrs. Purefoy, which harkens back to the evolution. Mary was impregnated by God, as a virgin. It seems the evolutionary cycle is starting over. People evolved away from God; they need a redeemer, born out of purity and not of the flesh, to bring them closer to God, or the ideal. Mrs. Purefoy has obviously copulated with either her husband or another man in order to conceive and birth this child; a child born of the flesh. Also, this is interesting:
“In a woman’s womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not pass away. This is post-creation. That all flesh shall come to thee.”
This harkens to John 1: 1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So, before, essence and object were attached, inseparable. The signified and the signifier were one. Joyce’s use of ridiculous language seems to emphasize the (d)evolution (movement away from God). The word and that which the word tries to encapsulate, have grown very far apart. So, in a way, the ideal and the body or real or corporeal, were once joined. This is in the beginning, in Eden. Then Eve, that evil woman, broke this unity apart. The earth now needs a messiah to redeem us from this world that exists “in the flesh” and bring us closer to the ideal: God. So he sends his son to unite the two. But, in the above passage from Ulysses (not the biblical passage), I get the feeling that the ideal takes precedence over the physical (becomes the word that shall not pass away).
Similarly, when Stephen is mimicking the last supper, he will drink the wine but not partake of the body of Christ (the bread). But, perhaps this shows just Stephen’s link with the ideal.
Also, the storm that is brewing through out the entire chapter, at certain times, seems to be reminiscent of the great flood, where God spared only Noah and the creatures two by two, one male, one female. This washing of the evils of the word obviously goes with the messiah, and seems fitting when placed in the context of these ribald men completely apathetic to Mrs. Purefoy’s pain; well, all except Bloom. His heroic quality (like Noah and Christ who save us from the evils of the word) of empathy is truly put to use in Oxen of the sun.
Bloom, however, is a hypocrite. He spread his seed but onto the sand (which seems linked to the biblical passage Mathew 7: 15-29
“Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.
And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.”)
Bloom has wasted the life force. “”Has he not nearer home a see field that lies fallow for the want of a ploughshare?” (409). References to Rudy’s death are abundant. What makes a perfectly healthy child just die after a few days? Bloom, aware of his lack of a son, gazes at Stephen, the obvious surrogate.
And the episode ends with a mockery of the Almighty God.
This seems to be somewhat evoked in the ‘somewhat indecipherable’ paragraph on the first page (383).
“matters most profitable…to be studied…in doctrine erudite…high mind’s ornament…other circumstances being equal by no exterior splendor…prosperity of a nation..the original..might not be in the future not wit h similar excellence…procreating function…”
From these little clips, I get evolution, devolution, and the ideal / real dichotomy, which is represented in birth, the virgin birth, and also, the birth of Mrs. Purefoy, which harkens back to the evolution. Mary was impregnated by God, as a virgin. It seems the evolutionary cycle is starting over. People evolved away from God; they need a redeemer, born out of purity and not of the flesh, to bring them closer to God, or the ideal. Mrs. Purefoy has obviously copulated with either her husband or another man in order to conceive and birth this child; a child born of the flesh. Also, this is interesting:
“In a woman’s womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not pass away. This is post-creation. That all flesh shall come to thee.”
This harkens to John 1: 1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So, before, essence and object were attached, inseparable. The signified and the signifier were one. Joyce’s use of ridiculous language seems to emphasize the (d)evolution (movement away from God). The word and that which the word tries to encapsulate, have grown very far apart. So, in a way, the ideal and the body or real or corporeal, were once joined. This is in the beginning, in Eden. Then Eve, that evil woman, broke this unity apart. The earth now needs a messiah to redeem us from this world that exists “in the flesh” and bring us closer to the ideal: God. So he sends his son to unite the two. But, in the above passage from Ulysses (not the biblical passage), I get the feeling that the ideal takes precedence over the physical (becomes the word that shall not pass away).
Similarly, when Stephen is mimicking the last supper, he will drink the wine but not partake of the body of Christ (the bread). But, perhaps this shows just Stephen’s link with the ideal.
Also, the storm that is brewing through out the entire chapter, at certain times, seems to be reminiscent of the great flood, where God spared only Noah and the creatures two by two, one male, one female. This washing of the evils of the word obviously goes with the messiah, and seems fitting when placed in the context of these ribald men completely apathetic to Mrs. Purefoy’s pain; well, all except Bloom. His heroic quality (like Noah and Christ who save us from the evils of the word) of empathy is truly put to use in Oxen of the sun.
Bloom, however, is a hypocrite. He spread his seed but onto the sand (which seems linked to the biblical passage Mathew 7: 15-29
“Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.
And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.”)
Bloom has wasted the life force. “”Has he not nearer home a see field that lies fallow for the want of a ploughshare?” (409). References to Rudy’s death are abundant. What makes a perfectly healthy child just die after a few days? Bloom, aware of his lack of a son, gazes at Stephen, the obvious surrogate.
And the episode ends with a mockery of the Almighty God.
Nausicaa
Gerty, sports a straw hat, and a dress of blue and white; indeed, as Kevin mentioned, she is likened to the virgin Mary, but the straw hat also links her to Blazes Boylan, the object of Blooms infidelity, if one could call it that.
After reading the Cyclops, I got the feeling that Bloom’s impotence might cease up a bit, (he is resurrected in a way) and his impotence is somewhat lifted here. After all, he does reach climax, and feels oh so much better. The torture of sexual desire loosens its grip upon Bloom and we see his mind return to its normal route of thought, wondering about love, fate, Molly, and a lot about sight and smell, which reminded me of Stephen in Proteus, contemplating sound versus sight.
It is obvious that Bloom’s mind is still with Molly. He contemplates her lingering scent and remembers how she sprays her perfume on their pillows: “I leave this to you to think of me when I’m far away on the pillow (374). Scent is established as intoxicating in the Lotus-eaters and elsewhere, but here it seems as if Molly’s powerful “ether” like scent has waned. Her scent is “sweet and chap: soon sour.” But soon after Bloom says that he likens Molly, or women’s scent to a spider spinning gossamer that clings to everything (374).
Although Bloom’s impotence is superficially overcome, he casts his seed into sand: “nothing grows in it. All fades” (381). Besides, we never really doubted Bloom’s ability to achieve an erection. His real impotence comes out of not being able to make love to his wife. Still, “he gets the plumb and I get the plum stones” (377).
I am also interested in this strange synchronicity of minds that Robin has mentioned in class. Bloom’s watch stops at the time that Molly and Boylan have sex. However, I am unsure of what further significance this might have. In the end, Bloom, the priest, and Gerty are all linked with the Cuckoo, which is reminiscent of Bloom being the cuckold, in Gerty’s eyes.
After reading the Cyclops, I got the feeling that Bloom’s impotence might cease up a bit, (he is resurrected in a way) and his impotence is somewhat lifted here. After all, he does reach climax, and feels oh so much better. The torture of sexual desire loosens its grip upon Bloom and we see his mind return to its normal route of thought, wondering about love, fate, Molly, and a lot about sight and smell, which reminded me of Stephen in Proteus, contemplating sound versus sight.
It is obvious that Bloom’s mind is still with Molly. He contemplates her lingering scent and remembers how she sprays her perfume on their pillows: “I leave this to you to think of me when I’m far away on the pillow (374). Scent is established as intoxicating in the Lotus-eaters and elsewhere, but here it seems as if Molly’s powerful “ether” like scent has waned. Her scent is “sweet and chap: soon sour.” But soon after Bloom says that he likens Molly, or women’s scent to a spider spinning gossamer that clings to everything (374).
Although Bloom’s impotence is superficially overcome, he casts his seed into sand: “nothing grows in it. All fades” (381). Besides, we never really doubted Bloom’s ability to achieve an erection. His real impotence comes out of not being able to make love to his wife. Still, “he gets the plumb and I get the plum stones” (377).
I am also interested in this strange synchronicity of minds that Robin has mentioned in class. Bloom’s watch stops at the time that Molly and Boylan have sex. However, I am unsure of what further significance this might have. In the end, Bloom, the priest, and Gerty are all linked with the Cuckoo, which is reminiscent of Bloom being the cuckold, in Gerty’s eyes.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Cyclops. Crucifixion.
In the Cyclops, I think there is a danger for the reader to fall in to looking at this episode with ‘one eye’. Here, we see Joyce make a mockery out of Irish nationalists, the hero, religion, journalism, etc, creating what the Bloomsday book calls, an “inflated caricature,” of all the aforementioned. The unnamed one-eyed narrator is put in juxtaposition to Bloom’s cod’s eye, who can see things both ways: (But don’t you see, on the other hand. (306). Therefore, beneath Joyce’s outward mockery, the wasteland / fisher king theme expands dramatically.
Bloom stands outside the tavern where the citizen, our narrator, and a few other men drink. Bob Doran, the drunk, swears that he has just seen Dignam, whom we all know is dead. The tone shifts from somewhat playful to macabre, when Alf says, “Dead! He is no more dead then you are” (31), which evokes the feeling that these men are actually somewhere between heaven and hell, such as purgatory. This is brought home in the hilarious mockery of different religion’s take on the afterlife, however, as I said before, despite the overwhelming humor of the episode, it cannot be simplified to humor alone. It is a parody, yet evocation of the afterlife.
Bloom lurks on the other side of the veil of the underworld (metaphorically speaking). “There he is again, says the citizen, staring out” (302). Finally, “Bloom slopes in with his cod’s eye (God’s eye) on the dog…” (There is an obvious connection with Stephen’s dogsbody, the Proteus episode where Stephen sees one live dog fondling the dead one, etc..) Our hero seems to finally have stepped into the underworld.
Themes of surplus (parody of Irish revival of Irish poetry etc in beginning) / barren land (313,314) / usurpation, (thievery, Bloom’s Freudian slip, England of Ireland) and martyrdom recur in the Cyclops. Soon after Bloom enters, we are told of a hanging. Then, Christ’s crucifixion is alluded to, as well as the necessity of Christ to then, descend into hell before he can ascend to heaven: “Here, says he, take them to hell out of my sight.”
The conversation takes a turn to express the idea that when a man is hanged, he achieves an erection, which further correlates the metaphoric necessity for Bloom to be crucified in order to rid himself of impotence.
We also see Bloom, for what I assume is the first time, directly speaking of Blazes Boylan. Also, in the end, when the drunken man cries out, “Three cheers for Israel” Bloom actually retorts: “Mendelssohn was a Jew and Karl Marx and Mercadante and Spinoza. And the Savior was a Jew and his father was a Jew. Your God” (342).
Finally, the moment that I have been waiting for has happened: Bloom is crucified. I know this isn’t literally, but it undoubtedly happens. We see the religious procession, where a silver casket is being carried though the streets. Then, in Hungarian, we hear shouts of “See you again my dear friend. See you again!” which alludes to Bloom being the one in the coffin, and also the resurrection. “And there came a voice out of heaven, calling: Elijah! Elijah! And he answered with a main cry: Abba Adonai! And they beheld Him even Him, ben Bloom Elijah…” (345). (Earlier in the chapter Bloom is likened to the messiah numerous times).
Does this mean that Bloom’s impotence is lifted? How will this impact the wasteland? Does this bring God back into it? Will the body be recovered from the waters? Will Mrs. Purefoy finally birth that baby? Please join us next time on Days of Our Lives.
P.S If anyone has a better understanding of the wasteland / fisher king please speak up and help me try to work this out.
Bloom stands outside the tavern where the citizen, our narrator, and a few other men drink. Bob Doran, the drunk, swears that he has just seen Dignam, whom we all know is dead. The tone shifts from somewhat playful to macabre, when Alf says, “Dead! He is no more dead then you are” (31), which evokes the feeling that these men are actually somewhere between heaven and hell, such as purgatory. This is brought home in the hilarious mockery of different religion’s take on the afterlife, however, as I said before, despite the overwhelming humor of the episode, it cannot be simplified to humor alone. It is a parody, yet evocation of the afterlife.
Bloom lurks on the other side of the veil of the underworld (metaphorically speaking). “There he is again, says the citizen, staring out” (302). Finally, “Bloom slopes in with his cod’s eye (God’s eye) on the dog…” (There is an obvious connection with Stephen’s dogsbody, the Proteus episode where Stephen sees one live dog fondling the dead one, etc..) Our hero seems to finally have stepped into the underworld.
Themes of surplus (parody of Irish revival of Irish poetry etc in beginning) / barren land (313,314) / usurpation, (thievery, Bloom’s Freudian slip, England of Ireland) and martyrdom recur in the Cyclops. Soon after Bloom enters, we are told of a hanging. Then, Christ’s crucifixion is alluded to, as well as the necessity of Christ to then, descend into hell before he can ascend to heaven: “Here, says he, take them to hell out of my sight.”
The conversation takes a turn to express the idea that when a man is hanged, he achieves an erection, which further correlates the metaphoric necessity for Bloom to be crucified in order to rid himself of impotence.
We also see Bloom, for what I assume is the first time, directly speaking of Blazes Boylan. Also, in the end, when the drunken man cries out, “Three cheers for Israel” Bloom actually retorts: “Mendelssohn was a Jew and Karl Marx and Mercadante and Spinoza. And the Savior was a Jew and his father was a Jew. Your God” (342).
Finally, the moment that I have been waiting for has happened: Bloom is crucified. I know this isn’t literally, but it undoubtedly happens. We see the religious procession, where a silver casket is being carried though the streets. Then, in Hungarian, we hear shouts of “See you again my dear friend. See you again!” which alludes to Bloom being the one in the coffin, and also the resurrection. “And there came a voice out of heaven, calling: Elijah! Elijah! And he answered with a main cry: Abba Adonai! And they beheld Him even Him, ben Bloom Elijah…” (345). (Earlier in the chapter Bloom is likened to the messiah numerous times).
Does this mean that Bloom’s impotence is lifted? How will this impact the wasteland? Does this bring God back into it? Will the body be recovered from the waters? Will Mrs. Purefoy finally birth that baby? Please join us next time on Days of Our Lives.
P.S If anyone has a better understanding of the wasteland / fisher king please speak up and help me try to work this out.
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