The reading stopped at ". . . abandonment and recuperation." (17.253)
Summary:
Ithaca, the penultimate episode of Ulysses, describes actual homecoming. It is 2 a.m. Concerned about where Stephen will find a place to sleep that night, Bloom is taking him home to No. 7, Eccles Street.
Ithaca, could not have differed more in style from Eumaeus, the previous episode. In fact, with each episode, Joyce opens up new vistas of style. Here it resembles the style of catechism, a series of fixed questions, answers or precepts used for instruction. Just look at two examples: the first with which the episode starts: What parallel courses did Bloom and Stephen follow returning?, and again one that appears later: What in water did Bloom, Waterlover, drawer of water, watercarrzer, returning to the range, admire? Throughout the episode, longish explanations are given as answers to the questions raised. Everything that is talked about, seen and felt is categorized, listed, everything is treated in an ordered manner. These categories/lists are (this order is) presented in such a way as to render that all the topics look as if they are of equal importance. It feels as if the episode is trying to get back control of what has been missing, and to make up for the looseness and laxness of the previous one. But, again, though the effort seems to defeat its purpose, though conciseness and precision seem to get sacrificed, this style adds to the richness of the experience of reading Ulysses.
