096.0 - Lestrygonians - WIP

Guide to support Ulysses.

Notes:

Red = Various Language Used and It’s Translation

Orange = Word Description

- = Guided Plot

Noted Characters:

Ben Dollard: A well known tenor - “He has legs like barrels” “Big Ben””Barreltone”

Bartell d’Arcy: First appears in Dubliners - The Dead. He is another Tenor

Mrs. Breen - Josie Powell: Blooms ex love interest who has aged rough. Bloom blames her husband.

Mrs. Beaufoy (Mina Purefoy) - A Dubliner that is currently In a 3 day labor at the hospital.

Cashel Boyle O’Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell: Well known Dubliner that roamed around the streets.

Alf Bergan: Assistant to the Sub-Sheriff that might be apart of Mr. Breen’s U.P. Scandal

Mrs. Mariam Dandrade: A rich character Bloom mets at the Shelbourne Hotel when Bloom and Molly were trying to make a living off selling second hand clothes.

Nosey Flynn: First seen in Dubliners - “Counterparts” discovered “sitting up in his usually corner of Davy Byrnes” pub. Most likely spends him time at the bar.

Jack Mooney: First seen in “The Boarding House” - Dubliners. His sister Polly was dating Bob Doran.

Bob Doran: Brother In Law - Boarding House - Dubliners - Was dating Polly and eventually married. Felt pressure from Jack to marry her.

Paddy Leonard: Originally seen in Dubliners - “Counterparts” - Usually in bar scenes.

Bantam Lyon: First seen in “Ivy Day in the Committee Room” - Dubliners. Feels Bloom gave him a tip during the horse race.

Location: Bloom traveling to Davy Byrnes Pub to National Library - 1PM

Odyssey:

As Odysseus and his men are denied any help by Aeolus, they go back to the sea. Landing at the island of Lestrygonians, all the ships anchor in a “curious bay” besides Odysseus’s. A girl lures the men to a lodge housing her father, Antiphates, king of the Lestrygonians. Antiphates is a giant and cannibal. He and his men slaughter and eat all the ships in the bay and their crews. Odysseus and his crew are the only ones to escape the island. Onward to Circe’s Island they go!

Themes:

Organ: Esophagus

Art: Architecture

Color: None

Symbol: Constables

Technique: Peristaltic

Pouncing On Prey 190-197

• Episode starts with Bloom on the street walking. Starting right at Graham Lemon’s confectioners hall. And Bloom gets handed a YMCA flyer.

• Walking, Bloom recalls the time Molly was pregnant with Rudy and he had to go fetch Malaga Rasins for her.

• He spots the Daedalus daughter, seems to be selling things at the auctioneers, in need of money. Maybe waiting for her father, who had 15 children until the mother died.

Puke again like christians - Christians are heavy drinkers

• Standing over the river, Bloom thinks of Rueben J’s (Dodd) son who attempted suicide in the bay. “Must have swallowed a good bellyfull of that sewage.

• He crinkles up the YMCA ad and liters into the river, as he thinks of the pull of gravity. 32.2 ft/s^2

• In a reference to the Oddysey - Bloom buys two Banbury cakes and throw pieces in the Liffey for the birds. He watches them “pouncing on prey” like the Lestrygonians did to the crews of men. “Gone. Every morsel.” & “They never expected that.”

• Bloom ponders on the Liffey:

  • Why are saltwater fish not salty?

  • How can you own water? Its always flowing in a stream, never the same. Life is a stream.

  • “Stream of life”.

- Bloom continues walking through the streets of Dublin, pondering thoughts.

May As Well Get Her Sympathy 197-202

• Bloom runs into a friend, Mrs. Breen, she seems a bit interested in Bloom, but both are married.

• She notices he is in black and he soaks up the sympathy from her.

• Many clever sayings in this exchange:

  • “In the pink:” - Healthy and living

  • “Getting on like a house on fire” - Splendidly

  • “How are all your charges?” - Children

  • “All on the bakers list” - Able to eat breads and solid food

  • “Turn up like a bad penny” - Impossible to rid of

  • “He’s a caution to rattlesnakes” - Remarkable

- Mrs. Breen shows Bloom a postcard that her husband got. It read U.P. : up. (Imminent death - Charles dickens - Oliver Twist) Someone is trying to get her husband all worked up, prank.

Indiges - Indigestion

Ace of Spade - Ill omen in fortune telling - malice, misfortune, or death

• Bloom touched her elbow to pull her away from getting hit by a passerby - the buy who always walks on the outside of the lampposts. (Doing research this appears to be Cashel Boyle)

• Mrs. Breen sees Denis Green and tells Bloom she needs to go quickly.

• Another reference analyzing Mr. Breen’s look “Blown in from the bay” - So skinny he can be blown away in the wind.

Meshuggah = Crazy/Eccentric (Yiddish)

U.P.: Up 202-213

• Bloom appears to see Cashel Boyle again (but could be Alf Bergan or Richie Goulding?), the eccentric walking “the tight skull piece, the dangling stock, umbrella, dust coat. Going the two days.”

• Bloom thinks of the Henry Flower ad - “Wanted smart lady typist to aid gentlemen in literary work. I called you naughty darling because I do not like that other world.” (Re-listen to “The Great Courses” on this word, world)

Tony = Stylish

• He ponders on childbirth. See’s a group of police officers. Political events. Cyclical world.

• “Peeping Tom through the keyhole” - Lady Godium rode naked through town, forced, every respectable gentlemen did no look, besides Tom the Tailor.

• Bloom thinks of the British Economic Power - “Of the towheaded octopus, one of which heads is the head upon which the ends of the world have forgotten to come while the other speaks with a Scotch accent. The tentacles…”

• Bloom thinks of vegetarian logic: “If you do the eyes of that cow will pursue you through all eternity”.

• Bloom thinks of vegetarian food, that imposters meat: “Nutsteak? Nutarians. Fruitarians. To give you the idea you are eating a rump steak. Absurd. Salty too.”

Cherchez la femme = Look for the woman. (Fr)

See Ourselves As Others See Us 213-217

• Bloom reflects on his happiness and marriage to Molly. “I was happier then.” “Could never like it again after Rudy”

La cause è Santa! = The cause is sacred (it)

• Bloom enters The Burton Restaurant / Hotel for lunch. As he enters he comments “See the animals feed”. Thoughts on the people of Ireland, pigs. Questions whether is he is like that. “See ourselves as others see us.” Reflection on himself. From a Robert Burns Poem  (1786)

• Bloom doesn’t like the feel of the environment here. He decides to leave and go to Davy’s Bynes Pub. “I hate dirty eaters”. Bloom leaves the Burton as Odysseus avoids the bay, Bloom avoids the booze and cigarettes, Odysseus avoids death. “Eat or be eaten”

Davy Byrne’s. Moral Pub. Plumtree’s Potted Meat. 217-226

• Bloom is greeted by Nosey Flynn as soon as he enters the pub.

• References Odyssey with his thoughts: “Cannibals would with lemon and rice”

• Bloom orders a gorgonzola cheese sandwich and a glass of wine. Looks up at the clock and its about 2pm.  Davy Byrnes is at the bar.

• Nosey Flynn asks Davy Byrnes for advice on the Gold Cup horse race, most likely who to bet on.

• Bloom feels his “Mild fire of wine kindled his veins.” And comments on how fish haven’t evolved to be smart enough to avoid a hook: “Silly fish learn nothing in a thousand years.”

Kish = Large Basket

• Bloom recalls an intimate moment with his wife Molly in the past. And discusses the infatuation with curves of a woman. And how men are nothing to look at.

• Nosey Flynn & Davy Byrne start up a conversation on Bloom as his internal thoughts continue.

She’s Well Nourished, I Tell You. Plovers (Full Breasted Bird) On Toast - 226-

• Nosey Flynn mentions that Molly is Blooms better half and comments on her well off breasts.

• Nosey states that Bloom is a freemason. He feels that he is well off, because the Freemasons hook each other up. And in chauvinistic tone mentions they did smart by keeping women out of Freemasonry.

• Davy Byrnes mentions that he finds Bloom to be a “decent quiet man” and “a safe man”.

• Nosey mentions that you’ll never find Bloom when the “fun gets too hot” he tends to slip away and not partake. He’s been known to help people out but he’ll never do one thing: Sign a contract.

• Paddy Leonard & Bantam Lyons arrived on location and Bloom shortly after exits.

• We quickly join back with Bloom and his inner dialogue.

A cenar teco - You inveted me to sup with you

M’invitasti = And I have come

Teco = with you (it)

• He thinks of his ad sales at the paper and how much he could make. If he got it, he could buy Molly a silk petticoat. A giving, soft man. Next he see’s a blind man and offers his help. Then thinks of a basket he could buy Molly for her birthday. Reflects on how a blind persons like would be, other senses enhanced.

• Bloom passes the post office and thinks of how he must write back Martha.

• Bloom tries to focus his thoughts and go to the National Library for the Keyes ad.

Lestrygonians Reflections:

We really get to start to see Bloom. The episode starts off with an intimate connection with Bloom and his thoughts. To see his innocent thoughts. Bloom is withdrawn from the Dublin drama day to day. No gossip, while others are gossiping around him. No desire to get drunk at noon. No desire to partake in gambling that is going around of him. In his own little world, contemplating his life and everything going on around him. He thinks of others before himself and an understanding human. There are some that see the good in him, Like Davy Byrnes in this episode, along with Martin Cunningham from episodes past. Then others who get sucked into the gossip and talk down about him. From my prospective, this shows the intellect of the characters throughout this book. As we stroll through this episode, it’s easy to reflect on characters in your life, that reflect characters in this book. Just like James Joyce did of his time.

Referenced Works:

Miguel de Cervantes - “Don Quixote” - (1605/1615)

Robert Ball - “The Story Of Heavens” - (1885)

Frederick Nicholls Crouch - “Kathleen Mavourneen” - (1837)

Felix McGlennon - “His Funeral Is Tomorrow” - (1887)

Robert Burns - “Comin’ Thro’ The Rye” - (1782)

Charles Dickens - “Oliver Twist” - (1838)

Oliver St. John Gogarty - “As I was Going Down Sackeville St” - (1937)

Oscar Wilde - “A Woman of No Importance” Oscar Wilde - (1893)

Arthur Sullivan & William Schwenck Gilbert - “The Pirates of Penzance”  - (1880)

Timothy Daniel Sullivan - “God Save Ireland” - (1867)

Dion  Bovcicault - “The Shaughraun” - (1874)

Charles Mackay - “Theres A Good Time Coming” - (1846)

Tom Taylor - “Hidden Hand” - (1864)

Thomas Moore - “The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls” - (1875)

Giacomo Meyerbeer - “Les Hugenots” - (1836 Opera)

Robert Burns - “To a Louse” - (1786)

Sir Samuel Ferguson  - “The Burial of King Cormac” - (1864)

Shakespeare - “Midsummer Nights Dream” -(1595)

Alfred Grays - “Father O Flynn” - (1879)

Hannah Glass - “The Art of Cookery” - (1747)

Alfred Lord Tennyson - “Ulysses” - (1842)

William Make Peace Thackeray - “Vanity Fair” - (1848)

Shakespeare - “Venus & Adonis” - (1593)

Old Masonic Ritual - “The Old Charges” - (1723)

Mozart - “Don Giovanni” - (1787)

Handel - “The Messiah” - (1742)

References:

Gifford, Don, and Robert J. Seidman. Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Univ. of California Press, 2009.

“To A Louse.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 June 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Louse.