At the Bloom residence

Another chapter, another new, interesting narrative technique. It moves nicely on from the previous chapter in the formal tone, in the form of a dialogue or questions and answers, a catechism. I have to say, I don't think I've ever come across this technique used anywhere else.  

It is extremely formal and uses mathematical, technical language; almost impossibly detailed, although sometimes contradictory or even oxymoronic: '...his firm full masculine feminine passive active hand.' (p627, OUP 1998).  Still, Joyce's humour carries on, with the ironic comments about 'light to the gentiles' (p629, ibid), Bloom's declining of an invitation to dinner: 'Very gratefully, with grateful appreciation, with sincere appreciative gratitude, in appreciatively grateful sincerity of regret, he declined.' (p633, ibid), the use of the mock-serious and word-play on the infamous Plumtree's potted meat. The form forces impartiality and lack of emotion about the characters, for example, when Stephen performs a bizarre example of an anti-semitic song, Bloom is described as reacting 'With mixed feelings. Unsmiling...' (p644, ibid).

Bloom and Bloom's house are both depicted with the utmost realism, to the point that the narrator describes in detail the contents of his drawers and bookshelf. 

Leopold Bloom at home. Guessing the film-maker is focusing on his 'womanliness' here (link) 

 

 

 

 Speaking of womanliness and the contents of drawers, we even get to see Bloom's birth certificate and to snigger over his middle name, 'Paula'. If this isn't an obvious way of James Augusta Joyce to point out Bloom's lack of masculinity, I don't know what is. Mind you, he did marry Nora Joseph Barnacle!


We also get to see another view Bloom has of Molly. So far we've mainly seen the adulterous singing wife, but here we get to see Bloom's view of not-very-intelligent Molly who needs Bloom's practical suggestions to assist in her every day life. Bloom does have quite a high opinion of his own common sense, as we've seen in the last chapter, he's not above giving Mr. Big Brains Stephen some unwanted advice about avoiding prostitutes and eating regularly. Bloom also seems to think of Molly as some kind of harlot, once he gets rid of Stephen he goes to bed imagining the legions of men who've slept with her in that same bed; the list including a couple of priests and even Simon Dedalus. I think here we are assume that this is hyperbolic rather than literal. Bloom doesn't blame her for her adultery, as it seems they haven't had sex in over a decade.

I admit, I liked this chapter, in spite of its deliberate anti-literary style that was so different from anything else I read. Completely confusing because these last few chapters seem to have wiped out all my preconceived ideas about the characters, about the book and about Joyce himself. I don't think I will ever be a fan of S&C, but I can see why people re-read the book.