JOYCE’S WORLD.

JOYCE’S WORLD. I am now reading ULYSSES, and Nick asked me to pass on my opinions as I go along. First, I am really enjoying it. The next reaction is that I have entered a different world. I know from DUBLINERS and PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST that for Joyce every word is meant to have associations and everything is a symbol. ULYSSES begins: “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.” And I wonder what it means—or suggests—that the the mirror and the razor are crossed. And the bowl of lather? Sometimes when I stop reading ULYSSES I look around me and try to imagine that every object in the room is charged with symbolism. I commented about the symbols to Mary Jane, and she said that Joyce had a medieval mind.

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2 Responses to JOYCE’S WORLD.

  1. Nick says:

    I should really go back, although I know people spend entire lifetimes analyzing Ulysses.

    There were some chapters that I just found overwhelming, and off the top of my head I think “Oxen of the Sun” in particular was beyond me. This would have been four or five years ago, I wonder if I could take a second crack at it.

  2. Pingback: FINDING THE SYMBOL. | Pater Familias

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