CerebralMix 2015-05-03: Ulysses Episode Eighteen

Introduction

Episode Eighteen of our survey of Ulysses continues with the Eumaeus episode from the novel. As I mentioned before the narrative of this takes on yet another completely different from from the previous episodes. One of the things that is rather astonishing about Ulysses, and Joyce’s writing on the whole, is how deliberate he was in choosing different forms for each section of the novel.

This is probably also to blame for the novel being considered one of the most difficult reads in the English language. It’s not enough to be able to understand what is written from a plot point. Instead it’s necessary to understand the underlying elements of the narrative forms in order to have a greater picture of the overall meaning of the section, or at least a deeper appreciation of what is happening.

Eumaeus is a good example of this. As mentioned in the notes to the last episode, the narrative for this episode for this is that of an aspiring or inexperienced writer trying to impress readers by using narrative elements that sound impressive but are inappropriate.

This reflects the world of the cabman’s shelter. The inhabitants of which are full of rumor and opinions. Each of whom is trying to impress the others with their knowledge, but often stretching their understanding of things in ways that are not appropriate.

Can this section of Ulysses be read and appreciated without understanding this point? On one level it might be appreciated, however the narrative reinforces the overall point of the episode in a way that cannot be directly stated by the characters themselves. So, it is through the craft of Joyce that we are given a deeper insight into the events that are taking place. Of course, one could criticize the choices that are made as being possibly too period specific, and therefore losing meaning over time. However, understanding art of any kind from a different time period requires understanding the period in which it was produced. Even novels that are only forty or fifty years old lose some of their poignancy when separated from the period in which they were written. (And I won’t go into genres such as Science Fiction where scientific changes have completely changed the accuracy of their original predictions of the future.)

Readings

In the past I’ve actually included the text of the poems or stories as part of the show notes. In the case of Ulysses that would be a bit on the incredibly heavy side. Instead I have produced a guide: CerebralMix Ulysses Series that provides the references that I am using, along with a show guide to the whole broadcast of this series.