Ulysses - James Joyce
Impressions of this great novel by Charles CaveApril 1993
I had always wanted to read Ulysses, hailed as the most important novel of the 20th Century. Last year I borrowed the book from the library and attempted to read as much as possible during the loan period of three weeks, but I barely skimmed the surface. Not to be out-witted, I read several commentaries on Joyce's works, a comprehensive biography, and re-read Homer's Odyssey.
Realising that I would need help to gain some rewards for my effort in reading, I embarked on a self-study course. My self-designed course on James Joyce consisted of the following pieces of reading. Quotations and annotations have been included.1. 'The Modern World - 10 Great Writers' by Malcolm Bradbury
[Joyce] is one of the essential representatives of the idea of the modern in the novel
. Anthony Burgess pronounced Ulysses the greatest single work in the English literature of this century. Nearly all novels of any ambition today acknowledge Joyce's reconstruction of the English language and of the tactics of the modern myth, his transformation of fictional time and consciousness.
Joyce explained when he was asked what Ulysses was about:
I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only was on ensuring one's immortality.
Ulysses is the great modern example of the 'de-creative' novel, a work that moves our attention away from its realistic subject into its language and its form. It makes an epic approach, yet also functions as an anti-epic.
Joyce stated that he wrote the book in such a way that if Dublin were to be destroyed it could be reconstructed from the novel.
2. Biographical Encyclopaedia (Details unknown)
Ulysses is the story of one day in Dublin seen through the eyes of four people Ñ Buck Mulligan, Leopold Bloom (an Irish Jew), Stephen Daedalus and Molly Bloom (Leopold's wife). Essentially, Ulysses is the story of two men (Bloom and Daedalus) whose lives meet in Dublin on 16th June 1904. It is told in a stream of consciousness technique, describing the workings of the mind of Bloom and giving the reader pieces of fragmentary conversations, physical sensations, memories. Underneath the surface action is the mythical quest of Bloom to look for a son to replace the child he and his wife lost at an early age.
3. Encyclopaedia Brittanica
Biographical sketches of his wanderings around Europe - Paris, Trieste, Zurich and back to Paris.
4. Literature in Perspective - James Joyce - Kenneth Grose
(published by Evans Brothers Limited London)
This was by far the most useful study guide, and as described in the preface, it helped making a great writer's works intelligible to the ordinary scholarly reader. Reading is a pleasure; reading great literature is a great pleasure, which can be enhanced by increased understanding, both of the actual words on the page and of the background to these words.
Each of Joyce'ss works very critically analysed, and I was encouraged to first read The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners before embarking on Ulysses. Before commencing each chapter, I would read the critique to refresh my memory, and then I would begin reading.
This was the key to maximising my enjoyment of the book without it, I would have lost too much meaning. Joyce published a plan of the book, which is printed in the Penguin edition, and I frequently referred to this table. Apparently Joyce withdrew publication of the table, and removed the titles of the chapters. Each chapter has a Homeric parallel to The Odyssey and refers to a particular art, time, place, technique, colour, organ on the body, symbol and technique. (published by Thames and Hudson London).
A detailed biography of Joyce with an excellent selection of photographs, reproductions, sketches with plentiful references to his works. I found this book helpful in visualising the scenes of the books.
Probably the most rewarding experiences I gained from JoyceÕs masterwork was seeing the English language pushed past its limits. Each chapter, loosely based on episodes from the Odyssey, follows a different style, ranging from monologue (with no punctuation), drama, rhetoric and poetry.
Commonplace, low-life incidents are told in a mocking, realistic way. Nothing heroic happens, however the book is about the small ordinary man trying to live his life in the commonplace world of modern times. It is a book of the commonplace in which trivial things acquire a pattern and a mythical function. Meticulous details of Dublin are recorded.
Bloomsday: Thursday, 16th June, 1904 (see page 770).
In some countries, Bloomsday is celebrated and I have seen articles in the newspaper recording the Sydney activities of breakfasts, and readings of the book. I am planning to participate in the Sydney celebration this year. [Actually, my first Bloomsday was Sydney 1995]
Copyright Charles Cave page.
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