Ulysses Literature Review
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Ulysses Literature Review
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Leopold Bloom’s inner thoughts and perspective surrounding his own sexuality and the women he encounters is, in short, a labyrinth of fantasy, shame, and complex social roles. These themes are not only introduced in a prominent way but also enforce instances from earlier chapters, through the chapter “Nausicaa'', the episode that is found in the summer edition of the 1920 “The Little Review '' magazine. Through the book readers glimpse at Bloom's thoughts and actions he takes surrounding the women in his life and that he encounters on that day. Sexuality and the social narratives that surround women and are major themes for Ulysses in itself but also for Bloom as a character. These ideas enforce Bloom's humanity and very personal, realistic thoughts and actions which are some of the main takeaways from the book in itself.
James Joyce, Sexuality and Social Purity details the point in which Gerty purposely exposes herself to arouse Bloom. This article describes her seemingly naive nature in the chapter and how, in theory, she had known of her power and was using it to create her own fantasy.(Jones, 2006) In Gerty MacDowell, Poetess: Butler's The Authoress of the Odyssey and the Nausicaa Episode of Ulysses analyzes interaction between Gerty and Bloom reveals certain social roles and the way people act on their sexuality while looking for parallels in the Odyssey. Gerty is portrayed as arousing to bloom and she in tern feels similarly, due to these feelings she becomes angry and almost competitive with one of her girlfriends on the beach as she is worried Blooms attention will turn to the other, mimicking the nature of jealousy and resentment that can be revealed with human sexuality and sexual partnerships. “She and Butler's Nausicaa are simply jealous of women who are more successful than they are with men” (Müller, 2006)
Molly Bloom is deconstructed in Molly Bloom: acting natural, while comparing her to Penelope of the Odyssey. Being Bloom's wife she has a lasting impact around how Bloom sees women and his own sexuality. With a long journey of abstinence with Molly and the shame and pressure that comes with being aware of her affair with another man, Bloom struggles with his own sexuality and social roles he feels doubtful he is able to fill at times, often wondering about his own attractiveness and resorting to some obscene actions. Obscenity is without a doubt one of if not the reason Ulysses wont through such a vigorous publication process. Sex is a taboo topic and has been kept private by media and society for decades. Through the many themes that ulysses explores it is one of the most impactful. (Sternlieb, 1998) Carving a literary exception: the obscenity standard and Ulysses, explores how this lewd book was defined through the years and will help to emphasize the importance of how “The Little Review” was such a crucial turning point for Ulysses journey. (Pagnattaro, 2001) Wasted Words: The Body Language of Joyce’s ‘Nausicaa 'is a chapter that draws attention to the body language descriptions from specifically Nausicaa. The mention of his semen after the encounter with Gerty promotes him to both be uncomfortable physically and yet also question the origins of life itself as he does similarly with menstruation in the chapter. These topics which had, especially at the time, been so private and completely inappropriate to write or even talk about. Joyce continued to challenge this narrative and write about the simple aspects of a man's life, many which were too obscene for anyone to wish to be written about. (Mclean, 2004)
Bibliography
Jones, Ellen Carol. “James Joyce, Sexuality and Social Purity (Review).” James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 1, 2006, pp. 162–166., https://doi.org/10.1353/jjq.2007.0011.
Mclean, C. (2004). Wasted Words: The Body Language of Joyce’s ‘Nausicaa’. In: Emig, R. (eds) Ulysses. New Casebooks. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-21248-0_7
Müller, Timo. “Gerty MacDowell, Poetess: Butler’s the Authoress of the Odyssey and the Nausicaa Episode of Ulysses.” Twentieth-Century Literature, vol. 55, no. 3, 2009, pp. 378–392., https://doi.org/10.1215/0041462x-2009-4006.
Pagnattaro, Marisa Anne. “Carving a Literary Exception: The Obscenity Standard and ‘Ulysses.’” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 47, no. 2, 2001, p. 217., https://doi.org/10.2307/827850.
Sternlieb, Lisa Ruth. “Molly Bloom: Acting Natural.” ELH, vol. 65, no. 3, 1998, pp. 757–778., https://doi.org/10.1353/elh.1998.0029.
