Chapter 15
Ulysses is a clear example of Modernist Literature, which tells the story of Leopold Bloom’s journey through Dublin on one single day. It is a parody of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’.
Below I have outlined the key points of Chapter 15 of Ulysses:
- Written as a play script
- Much of which are drunken hallucinations, creating confusing non-linear sections of writing
- Begins with Stephen and Lynch in Dublin’s red-light district. Bloom has followed them there but gets lost
- Joyce begins to descend into hallucinations from this point, discussing the characters’ fears and desires
- The chapter contains a lot of sexual confusion, as men transform into women
- The time-span is unusual and makes the action difficult to understand (Joyce actually said that this was his intention – the book isn’t supposed to be understood completely)
- Some critics suggests that the hallucinations are not necessarily from individual characters, but are from the novel itself- proving that the book has central themes and ideas which are more important to convey than creating fully-rounded characters. This is completely unconventional, as most novels are written for reader enjoyment..
- The characters frequently fall into Latin, another device to follow Joyce’s non-linear writing
- A stream of consciousness style of writing provides a novel with no real story-line
- Difficult to read because its in such short statements
- Explores morality – accusations constantly crop-up and are explored
- ‘Circe’ is thought to refer to the symbolic women in this chapter i.e. Bella Cohen
- “A times, time and half a time” is a Biblical reference to the Day of Judgement, furthering the moral theme
- The Chapter ends with a moving passage in which Bloom’s dead son Rudy appears in a hallucination
- Does Bloom make up all the components of mankind? Many critics suggest he is symbolic of everyday man, making his hallucinations what we keep inside us all.
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