Sunday, June 3, 2012
Money, wealth, and bodies
In this next set of books/episodes, one thing I found striking was the roles played by money and wealth in the two texts.
In The Odyssey, the displays of wealth are frequent and incredibly opulent. They often center around worship, with decadent feasts and sacrifices at Nestor's and at Menelaus' homes. In one especially memorable sacrifice, Nestor "...sheathed the heifer's horns / so the goddess' eyes might dazzle, delighted with the gift." (121) The descriptions of their homes also illuminate the incredible wealth of the kings. Telemachus compares Menelaus' house to Zeus's, but Menelaus overhears and says "No man alive could rival Zeus, dear boys, / with his everlasting palace and possessions. / But among men, I must say, few if any / could rival me in riches." (127) The gifts characters give to one another are enormous. Wealth also becomes apparent in a different way in the physical bodies of Telemachus and Peisistratus, in these sections, are oiled up, gleaming, and compared to gods. But wealth doesn't always bring happiness, and Menelaus says "But while I roamed those lands, amassing a fortune, / a stranger killed my brother, blind to the danger, duped blind - / thanks to the cunning of his cursed, murderous queen! / So I rule all this wealth with no great joy." (127)
These episodes of Ulysses also feature imagery of money and wealth. Like in the first episode, the state of one's teeth is a marker of social class. Stephen's interactions with his students contrast his poor background with the wealth of his students. After Stephen gets paid, "Stephen's hand, free again, went back to the hollow shells. Symbols too of beauty and of power. A lump in my pocket. Symbols soiled by greed and misery." (30) Mr. Deasy misquotes Shakespeare about money, and Stephen corrects him: "But what does Shakespeare say? Put but money in thy purse.
-Iago, Stephen murmured." (30)
Then Mr. Deasy and Stephen have this exchange:
"-I will tell you, he said solemnly, what is his proudest boast. I paid my way."
...
"-I paid my way. I never borrowed a shilling in my life. Can you feel that? I owe nothing. Can you?" (30)
Stephen then proceeds to mentally list off all of the debts he has. He clearly doesn't have the privilege that Deasy is so cavalier about, of being free of debts of all kinds. The episode concludes with an image of Deasy that mentions coins: "On his wise shoulders through the checkerwork of leaves the sun flung spangles, dancing coins." (36)
In the next episode, walking on the beach, Stephen refers to the shells as "Wild sea money." (37) Ulysses Annotated tells me that "shells" is also slang for money. Stephen later refers to his teeth as shells, too.
Lastly, fat and oil sometimes connote wealth in these episodes. The milk in episode 1 was described with an incredible richness. In this episode, Stephen describes priests as "...fat with the fat of kidneys of wheat" (40), which also reminded me of the imagery of sacrifices in The Odyssey. I'm interested to see in future episodes how bodies are described, as compared to the glistening godliness of male bodies in The Odyssey (or the sensual, graceful bodies of women). So far I don't remember very many bodily descriptions in Ulysses, except for the graphic images of the dead dog and the dead man's body in the water. My prediction would be that bodies would be described as imperfect, ailing (Stephen's mother), dead (Stephen's wondering about whether the midwife was carrying a dead baby in her bag), or otherwise distinctly un-godlike. We'll see!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Addendum
Weird - I just listened to the Radiolab episode about color, and they talk about Homer's use of color in the Odyssey and the Iliad. Apparently he never uses the color blue, and some people think he may have been colorblind. They also claim that the Bible, in Hebrew, never uses the color blue, either. But then they say that many ancient languages didn't have a word for blue, and they have a couple peculiar hypotheses about why.
http://www.radiolab.org/2012/may/21/sky-isnt-blue/
http://www.radiolab.org/2012/may/21/sky-isnt-blue/
The sea and its colors
Eek - finally starting to tackle this project!
I have been feeling like I don't have enough training in literary theory/history/religion (or at least a dozen other disciplines) to squeeze all the juice out of Ulysses, which has left me feeling intimidated and hesitant to start. But I've decided to set all that aside and just savor it to the best of my ability. We got a copy of Ulysses Annotated (Gifford and Seidman) that's overwhelmingly detailed, and I consulted it cursorily while reading the first episode, but I don't want to lean on it too much; I can be okay with not getting every nuanced historical reference in the interest of having a more fluid reading experience.
While I skimmed the CliffNotes summaries of both sections of these books, it didn't really feel necessary. The commentary is uninspiring. I think it might come more in handy in later, stream-of-consciousness episodes. But they will doubtless be more approachable for the more amateur reader (such as myself) than the overwhelming detail of the annotated guide!
Reading this first Odyssey/Ulysses pairing, one thing that particularly struck me was the rich imagery of the sea. Some examples:
Odyssey:
Ulysses:
I think I might be expecting the parallels between Ulysses and the Odyssey to be too linear and obvious, and maybe wondering "why's Stephen's mother dead, and what's happening with his father?" is not a fruitful way to approach the text. But there are some connections in these images of the sea - "Epi oinopa pontom" means "wine-dark sea," and "Thalatta" means "sea" (thanks, Ulysses Annotated). The images of Athena's sea-gray eyes come up in Ulysses, too. And both use the color palette of the sea to conjure up a mood: sometimes the sea is white, other times grey, or bile-green. Reading episode 1 of Ulysses, I felt like the sea was its own character, incredibly present in the scenes instead of being a backdrop.
Other images in Ulysses that particularly struck me:
I have been feeling like I don't have enough training in literary theory/history/religion (or at least a dozen other disciplines) to squeeze all the juice out of Ulysses, which has left me feeling intimidated and hesitant to start. But I've decided to set all that aside and just savor it to the best of my ability. We got a copy of Ulysses Annotated (Gifford and Seidman) that's overwhelmingly detailed, and I consulted it cursorily while reading the first episode, but I don't want to lean on it too much; I can be okay with not getting every nuanced historical reference in the interest of having a more fluid reading experience.
While I skimmed the CliffNotes summaries of both sections of these books, it didn't really feel necessary. The commentary is uninspiring. I think it might come more in handy in later, stream-of-consciousness episodes. But they will doubtless be more approachable for the more amateur reader (such as myself) than the overwhelming detail of the annotated guide!
Reading this first Odyssey/Ulysses pairing, one thing that particularly struck me was the rich imagery of the sea. Some examples:
Odyssey:
- pg. 82 "... a man whose white bones lie strewn in the rain somewhere, / rotting away on land or rolling down the ocean's salty swells."
- pg. 104 "Don't go roving over the barren salt sea - "
- pg. 106 "... a stiff following wind / rippling out of the west, ruffling over the wine-dark sea..."
- pg. 106 "... to Athena first of all, / the daughter of Zeus with flashing sea-gray eyes - "
Ulysses:
- pg. 5 (Mulligan): "Isn't the sea what Algy calls it: a grey sweet mother? The snotgreen sea. The scrotumtightening sea. Epi oinopa ponton. Ah, Dedalus, the Greeks. I must teach you. You must read them in the original. Thalatta! Thalatta! She is our great sweet mother. Come and look."
- pg. 5 "(Stephen): Across the threadbare cuffedge he saw the sea hailed as a great sweet mother by the wellfed voice beside him. The ring of bay and skyline held a dull green mass of liquid. A bowl of white china had stood beside her deathbed holding the green sluggish bile which she had torn up from her rotting liver by fits of loud groaning vomiting."
- pg. 9 (Stephen): "Look at the sea. What does it care about offences?"
- pg. 9 "Inshore and farther out the mirror of water whitened, spurned by lightshod hurrying feet. White breast of the dim sea. The twining stresses, two by two. A hand plucking the harpstrings merging their twining chords. Wavewhite wedded words shimmering on the dim tide."
- pg. 9 "...a bowl of bitter waters." Interestingly, the annotated guide says this refers to Numbers 5:11-31, outlining "the trial of a woman suspected of an unproven adultery." Weirdly enough I read about this this very morning in this week's Torah portion(!), and felt uneasy.
- pg. 18 "Eyes, pale as the sea the wind had freshened, paler, firm and prudent."
- pg. 21 "The man that was drowned. A sail veering about the blank bay waiting for a swollen bundle to bob up, roll over to the sun a puffy face, salt white. Here I am."
I think I might be expecting the parallels between Ulysses and the Odyssey to be too linear and obvious, and maybe wondering "why's Stephen's mother dead, and what's happening with his father?" is not a fruitful way to approach the text. But there are some connections in these images of the sea - "Epi oinopa pontom" means "wine-dark sea," and "Thalatta" means "sea" (thanks, Ulysses Annotated). The images of Athena's sea-gray eyes come up in Ulysses, too. And both use the color palette of the sea to conjure up a mood: sometimes the sea is white, other times grey, or bile-green. Reading episode 1 of Ulysses, I felt like the sea was its own character, incredibly present in the scenes instead of being a backdrop.
Other images in Ulysses that particularly struck me:
- pg. 10 (Stephen's mother): "Her shapely fingernails reddened by the blood of squashed lice from the children's shirts."
- pg. 13 (Mulligan) "...showing his white teeth and blinking his eyes pleasantly."
- pg. 13 "...rich white milk, not hers. Old shrunken paps."
- pg. 15 "Stephen filled a third cup, a spoonful of tea colouring faintly the thick rich milk."
All that white, and grey, and green - and then the red of the squashed lice! How vivid, and violent, and startling.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Stephen's feelings towards history
In episode 2 Stephen tells his boss:
"--History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am
trying to awake." (page 34, lines 22-23)
His thoughts (now every line that doesn't begin with "--") can be current running commentary or reflections of times past, and sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish the two. I find the later to be far more intense than the former. For instance early in episode 2 as the class starts to become unruly, he thinks about how their social standing above him contributes to his inability to keep control of the snotty boys.
"In a moment they will laugh more loudly, aware of my lack of rule and of the fees their papas pay." (24, 34-36)
Later when waiting to be paid his thoughts about his lack of upward mobility progress into thoughts about life and purpose and futility.
"As on the first day he bargained with me here. As it was in the beginning, is now." (29, 23-24)
"--History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am
trying to awake." (page 34, lines 22-23)
His thoughts (now every line that doesn't begin with "--") can be current running commentary or reflections of times past, and sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish the two. I find the later to be far more intense than the former. For instance early in episode 2 as the class starts to become unruly, he thinks about how their social standing above him contributes to his inability to keep control of the snotty boys.
"In a moment they will laugh more loudly, aware of my lack of rule and of the fees their papas pay." (24, 34-36)
Later when waiting to be paid his thoughts about his lack of upward mobility progress into thoughts about life and purpose and futility.
"As on the first day he bargained with me here. As it was in the beginning, is now." (29, 23-24)
only ideas and sensation
Buck Mulligan frowned quickly and said:
--What? Where? I can't remember anything. I remember
only ideas and sensations. Why? What happened in the name
of God?
(p. 8, l. 10-13)
I like this quote for itself and also as very relevant to Ulysses itself, as the novel starts off with a relatively easily followed narrative in Episode 1 but soon will change into heavily stream-of-consciousness. This episode is told more matter of factly but later Stephen's thoughts (of past, present, and future) will intrude and even dominate the text.
--What? Where? I can't remember anything. I remember
only ideas and sensations. Why? What happened in the name
of God?
(p. 8, l. 10-13)
I like this quote for itself and also as very relevant to Ulysses itself, as the novel starts off with a relatively easily followed narrative in Episode 1 but soon will change into heavily stream-of-consciousness. This episode is told more matter of factly but later Stephen's thoughts (of past, present, and future) will intrude and even dominate the text.
"Rubbing down with oil"
When Telemachus arrives somewhere, he is first given food and wine, then bathed and rubbed down with oil by local women, and then dressed before sitting next to the leader of whoever he is visiting. It's easy to presume a sexual nature and I think indeed we're meant to assume as much. I noticed that most of the time they are just attended to by unnamed women:
"When women had washed them, rubbed them down with oil and drawn warm fleece and shirts around their shoulders..." book 4 (126, 56-57)
But in one case in book 3, they name the woman:
"During the ritual lovely Polycaste, youngest daughter
of Nestor, Neleus' son, had bathed Telemachus.
Rinsing him off now, rubbing him down with oil,
she drew a shirt and handsome cape around him.
Out of his bath he stepped, glistening like a god,
strode in and sat by the old commander Nestor." (122, 521-526)
Looking it up, I see that Polycaste will later become Telemachus' wife!
ALSO, it is easy to compare this to Stephen's completely opposite feelings towards bathing. He is said to despise bathing, and one of the Ulysses guides (Hart/Hayman) says that the reader is actually supposed to believe that Stephen hasn't bathed in 8 months. EIGHT MONTHS. I know that's there the understanding of cleanliness has changed drastically in the last century, but 8 months still is quite a long time.
Also, compare the above quotes to Stephen's stream-of-consciousness on bathing. He is thinking about someone who apparently died in a public bath, a place where men are bathed and treated very similar to the Homeric heroes as above. In his memory of discussing the story with a woman she remarks that all men do that. Stephen, unlike most men or the Homeric heroes, feels quite differently about bathing:
"Tous les messieurs" he recalls to the lady saying, i.e. all men do!
"No this Monsieur, I said. Most licentious custom. Bath a most private thing. I wouldn't let my brother, not even my own brother, most lascivious thing." Episode 3(p. 43, l. 17-20)
"When women had washed them, rubbed them down with oil and drawn warm fleece and shirts around their shoulders..." book 4 (126, 56-57)
But in one case in book 3, they name the woman:
"During the ritual lovely Polycaste, youngest daughter
of Nestor, Neleus' son, had bathed Telemachus.
Rinsing him off now, rubbing him down with oil,
she drew a shirt and handsome cape around him.
Out of his bath he stepped, glistening like a god,
strode in and sat by the old commander Nestor." (122, 521-526)
Looking it up, I see that Polycaste will later become Telemachus' wife!
ALSO, it is easy to compare this to Stephen's completely opposite feelings towards bathing. He is said to despise bathing, and one of the Ulysses guides (Hart/Hayman) says that the reader is actually supposed to believe that Stephen hasn't bathed in 8 months. EIGHT MONTHS. I know that's there the understanding of cleanliness has changed drastically in the last century, but 8 months still is quite a long time.
Also, compare the above quotes to Stephen's stream-of-consciousness on bathing. He is thinking about someone who apparently died in a public bath, a place where men are bathed and treated very similar to the Homeric heroes as above. In his memory of discussing the story with a woman she remarks that all men do that. Stephen, unlike most men or the Homeric heroes, feels quite differently about bathing:
"Tous les messieurs" he recalls to the lady saying, i.e. all men do!
"No this Monsieur, I said. Most licentious custom. Bath a most private thing. I wouldn't let my brother, not even my own brother, most lascivious thing." Episode 3(p. 43, l. 17-20)
Host Etiquette
I like how the ancient Greeks feed their guests first and then probe with questions. "Now's the time, now they've enjoyed their meal, to probe our guests and find out who they are. Strangers--friends, who are you?" (p. 109, l. 77-79)
The term "stranger" is used without any negative connotation.
Also, I noticed the repeated phrase "once they'd put aside desire for food and drink"(109,75). Later as "when they'd poured [i.e. out to the gods], and drunk to their hearts content" (118, 385). Later again "when they'd put aside desire for food and drink" (122, 530).
It is about satisfying the strangers' bodily needs first and asking about gossip second...
The term "stranger" is used without any negative connotation.
Also, I noticed the repeated phrase "once they'd put aside desire for food and drink"(109,75). Later as "when they'd poured [i.e. out to the gods], and drunk to their hearts content" (118, 385). Later again "when they'd put aside desire for food and drink" (122, 530).
It is about satisfying the strangers' bodily needs first and asking about gossip second...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Audioguide to Ulysses
Frank Delaney
http://blog.frankdelaney.com/2010/06/re-joyce-episode-0-introduction-to-james-joyces-ulysses.html
Will make for some very slow reading but could be a good guide
http://blog.frankdelaney.com/2010/06/re-joyce-episode-0-introduction-to-james-joyces-ulysses.html
Will make for some very slow reading but could be a good guide
Monday, March 5, 2012
Irish Money
I made this as a guide. Add to it as need be!
Pound = quid = sovereign
1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence = 960 farthing
1 shilling = 1 bob = 12 pence/pennies
1 pence = 4 farthing
Florin = 2 shillings
Crown = 5 shillings
Guinea = 1 pound + 1 shilling = 21 shillings
Pound = quid = sovereign
1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence = 960 farthing
1 shilling = 1 bob = 12 pence/pennies
1 pence = 4 farthing
Florin = 2 shillings
Crown = 5 shillings
Guinea = 1 pound + 1 shilling = 21 shillings
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Editions
The Odyssey (Penguin classics). Tr R. Fagles. 2006. ISBN 0143039954.
Ulysses (Vintage International). 1990. ISBN 978-0-72276-2
"But Elliott, that version of Ulysses doesn't have episode numbers!"
1961/1990 version Ulysses episodes by page number
1 p2
2 p24
3 p37
4 p54
5 p71
6 p87
7 p116
8 p151
9 p184
10 p219
11 p256
12 p292
13 p346
14 p383
15 p429
16 p612
17 p666
18 p738
Ulysses (Vintage International). 1990. ISBN 978-0-72276-2
"But Elliott, that version of Ulysses doesn't have episode numbers!"
1961/1990 version Ulysses episodes by page number
1 p2
2 p24
3 p37
4 p54
5 p71
6 p87
7 p116
8 p151
9 p184
10 p219
11 p256
12 p292
13 p346
14 p383
15 p429
16 p612
17 p666
18 p738
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