Today we stopped at a nice sentence: "Sauce for the gander." (Penguin 360.30) (Gabler 11.877)
These pages are structured around Simon Dedalus singing the sad aria, "When first I saw that form endearing" from the opera, Martha, by Friedrich von Flotow.
Richie Goulding recognizes his brother-in-law's voice. The strained relationship between the two does not lessen his appreciation for Simon Dedalus's voice. Bloom asks Pat, the waiter, to set ajar the door of the bar. They all listen, are moved by the words, by the singing. Simon Dedalus has become for them Lionel, the hero of the opera, Martha. Simon Dedalus has become for Bloom, Siopold: Si(mon) + Lionel + Leopold (Bloom).
Wishing that he could have seen the face of the singer, Bloom thinks of how the barber in Drago's always looked my face when I spoke his face in the glass. As he starts to play with an elastic band he was carrying in his pocket, Bloom begins to compose a reply to the letter he got that morning from Martha Clifford, thinks of the first time he saw Molly (playing musical chairs at Mat Dillon's in Tenenure), and thinks of the life of Simon Dedalus. (Silly man! Could have made oceans of money.... Wore out his wife: now sings.) Richie Goulding talks of one night long ago, saying, 'Never forget that night. Si sang 'Twas rank and fame: in Ned Lambert's 'twas." (An aria from the opera, The Rose of Castile.) Richie's comment that this is the grandest number in the whole opera, starts of Bloom's thoughts on numbers - Numbers it is. All music when you come to think, - though he knows that just numbers would fall quite flat, it's on account of the sounds it is (so moving).
Not only Bloom and Richie Goulding but all the others present at that time in the Hotel listen to, appreciate and applaud Simon Dedalus's singing. The thirsty ones continue to drink. Bronze and Gold continue to replenish the tankards. A little bit of flirting goes on.
An extension of this 'harmless' flirting is carried on to Bloom's asking bald Pat for a pen and ink to write a reply to Martha. Of course he cannot let Richie know what he is doing. So Bloom pretends that he is writing a business letter to the newspaper, Freeman's Journal. And writes: 'dear Mady. Got your lett(er) and flow(er).... It is utterl(y) imposs(ible) to write today. So Bloom writes a reply just to say that it is utterly impossible to write! The letter's fragmented sentences are meant to echo musical motives. Though he writes to Martha, and even encloses a little present for her, he is not easy with the thought of what he is doing. (Folly am I writing? Husbands don't.) Still he comforts his conscience telling himself 'Sauce for the gander'. i.e., What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If Molly has an affair, it is ok for Bloom to have one too. And Boylan is still jingling along to Eccles street 7.
These pages are structured around Simon Dedalus singing the sad aria, "When first I saw that form endearing" from the opera, Martha, by Friedrich von Flotow.
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| (Photographed at the Joyce Center, Dublin on June 3, 2015) |
Wishing that he could have seen the face of the singer, Bloom thinks of how the barber in Drago's always looked my face when I spoke his face in the glass. As he starts to play with an elastic band he was carrying in his pocket, Bloom begins to compose a reply to the letter he got that morning from Martha Clifford, thinks of the first time he saw Molly (playing musical chairs at Mat Dillon's in Tenenure), and thinks of the life of Simon Dedalus. (Silly man! Could have made oceans of money.... Wore out his wife: now sings.) Richie Goulding talks of one night long ago, saying, 'Never forget that night. Si sang 'Twas rank and fame: in Ned Lambert's 'twas." (An aria from the opera, The Rose of Castile.) Richie's comment that this is the grandest number in the whole opera, starts of Bloom's thoughts on numbers - Numbers it is. All music when you come to think, - though he knows that just numbers would fall quite flat, it's on account of the sounds it is (so moving).
Not only Bloom and Richie Goulding but all the others present at that time in the Hotel listen to, appreciate and applaud Simon Dedalus's singing. The thirsty ones continue to drink. Bronze and Gold continue to replenish the tankards. A little bit of flirting goes on.
An extension of this 'harmless' flirting is carried on to Bloom's asking bald Pat for a pen and ink to write a reply to Martha. Of course he cannot let Richie know what he is doing. So Bloom pretends that he is writing a business letter to the newspaper, Freeman's Journal. And writes: 'dear Mady. Got your lett(er) and flow(er).... It is utterl(y) imposs(ible) to write today. So Bloom writes a reply just to say that it is utterly impossible to write! The letter's fragmented sentences are meant to echo musical motives. Though he writes to Martha, and even encloses a little present for her, he is not easy with the thought of what he is doing. (Folly am I writing? Husbands don't.) Still he comforts his conscience telling himself 'Sauce for the gander'. i.e., What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If Molly has an affair, it is ok for Bloom to have one too. And Boylan is still jingling along to Eccles street 7.
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| (Source: http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/wp-content/uploads/sauce_for_gander.jpg) |
At the end of the reading, we listened to a tenor (naturally not Simon Dedalus!) singing "When first I saw that form endearing." Read the lyrics here. Click on 'play music clip' in the link given to listen to the song.
