Today we read as far as "Queenstown harbour, Stephen replied." 510.417 (Gabler), p. 719 (Penguin).
We saw last week how Stephen and Bloom met Corley, who, claiming to be down on his luck, pressed Stephen for help. Stephen gives him a half-a-crown for which Corley tells him, "You're a gentleman". This is in contrast to what Buck Mulligan had said to Stephen in chapter 1 (page 2, Penguin): "He (Haines) thinks you're not a gentleman." Corley asks Stephen about who his companion is and tells him that he had seen "him a few times in the Bleeding Horse (a pub) in Camden street with Boylan the billsticker". Bloom has kept himself out of this conversation though he has been observing both Stephen Corley's "dilapidated hat and slouchy wearing apparel generally, testifying to chronic impecuniosity".
After Corley moves on, Bloom and Stephen continue on their way to the Cabman's shelter, with Bloom trying to engage Stephen in a conversation. Here we see a different Bloom, different from how we have so far known him. Here he seems quite interfering and asks Stephen quite personal questions. For example, he says "I don't mean to presume to dictate to you in the slightest degree but why did you leave your father's house? - To seek misfortune, was Stephen's answer." He talks about Buck Mulligan and suggests to Stephen later - on hearing a couple of Italians talking animatedly "near an ice cream car adjacent to the men's public urinal" (of all places), that he should write poetry in Italian, that beautiful language (not realizing the Italians had been arguing about money and insulting each other rudely). Stephen (who does) still couldn't care less.
In the Cabman's shelter, Bloom orders coffee and tells Stephen, "... it occurs to me you ought to sample something in the shape of solid food, say a roll of some description." Their presence makes the other "waifs and strays", who are eating and drinking there, curious. One of them, a redbearded sailor, asks Stephen his name. On being told that it is Dedalus, he wants to know whether Stephen knows Simon Dedalus, and starts telling an incredible story about meeting him in Stockholm and seeing him exhibit his formidable skills as a rifleman when touring with the Royal Circus.
As the sentences quoted above show, it is not clear what is true in this chapter, and what is not. Is the story about Simon Dedalus true? Is it true that Bloom has been seen many times in the company of Boylan? The chapter does indeed seem to be pervaded by a sense that stories cannot be trusted. Even textual markers don't always help much. The dash is usually a sing for direct speech in Joyce, but see e.g.: "- No, Mr Bloom repeated again, I wouldn't personally repose much trust in that boon companion of yours who contributes the humorous element, Dr Mulligan, as a guide, philosopher, and friend, if I were in your shoes." Apart from the irony of the shoes (Stephen is wearing Mulligan's shoes, which Bloom doesn't know), would Bloom really speak like this? Is he just trying to impress Stephen, the learned man? Or is this rather something like a translation of what Bloom might have said into the chapter's own language? Here it seems we wouldn't even trust a dash as a reliable sign. Or also, why does Stephen attract the attention of the sailor in the Cabman's shelter? Are there parallels between this chapter of Joyce's Ulysses and Homer's Odyssey?
Language and style are certainly something to remain aware of, as are the tall tales produced by characters like the sailor; not forgetting, of course, that Odysseus was a sailor too.
We saw last week how Stephen and Bloom met Corley, who, claiming to be down on his luck, pressed Stephen for help. Stephen gives him a half-a-crown for which Corley tells him, "You're a gentleman". This is in contrast to what Buck Mulligan had said to Stephen in chapter 1 (page 2, Penguin): "He (Haines) thinks you're not a gentleman." Corley asks Stephen about who his companion is and tells him that he had seen "him a few times in the Bleeding Horse (a pub) in Camden street with Boylan the billsticker". Bloom has kept himself out of this conversation though he has been observing both Stephen Corley's "dilapidated hat and slouchy wearing apparel generally, testifying to chronic impecuniosity".
After Corley moves on, Bloom and Stephen continue on their way to the Cabman's shelter, with Bloom trying to engage Stephen in a conversation. Here we see a different Bloom, different from how we have so far known him. Here he seems quite interfering and asks Stephen quite personal questions. For example, he says "I don't mean to presume to dictate to you in the slightest degree but why did you leave your father's house? - To seek misfortune, was Stephen's answer." He talks about Buck Mulligan and suggests to Stephen later - on hearing a couple of Italians talking animatedly "near an ice cream car adjacent to the men's public urinal" (of all places), that he should write poetry in Italian, that beautiful language (not realizing the Italians had been arguing about money and insulting each other rudely). Stephen (who does) still couldn't care less.
In the Cabman's shelter, Bloom orders coffee and tells Stephen, "... it occurs to me you ought to sample something in the shape of solid food, say a roll of some description." Their presence makes the other "waifs and strays", who are eating and drinking there, curious. One of them, a redbearded sailor, asks Stephen his name. On being told that it is Dedalus, he wants to know whether Stephen knows Simon Dedalus, and starts telling an incredible story about meeting him in Stockholm and seeing him exhibit his formidable skills as a rifleman when touring with the Royal Circus.
As the sentences quoted above show, it is not clear what is true in this chapter, and what is not. Is the story about Simon Dedalus true? Is it true that Bloom has been seen many times in the company of Boylan? The chapter does indeed seem to be pervaded by a sense that stories cannot be trusted. Even textual markers don't always help much. The dash is usually a sing for direct speech in Joyce, but see e.g.: "- No, Mr Bloom repeated again, I wouldn't personally repose much trust in that boon companion of yours who contributes the humorous element, Dr Mulligan, as a guide, philosopher, and friend, if I were in your shoes." Apart from the irony of the shoes (Stephen is wearing Mulligan's shoes, which Bloom doesn't know), would Bloom really speak like this? Is he just trying to impress Stephen, the learned man? Or is this rather something like a translation of what Bloom might have said into the chapter's own language? Here it seems we wouldn't even trust a dash as a reliable sign. Or also, why does Stephen attract the attention of the sailor in the Cabman's shelter? Are there parallels between this chapter of Joyce's Ulysses and Homer's Odyssey?
Language and style are certainly something to remain aware of, as are the tall tales produced by characters like the sailor; not forgetting, of course, that Odysseus was a sailor too.
