capitulos

ULYSSES

James Joyce is my favorite author, and this is my tribute to him.

Ulysses chapter summaries:

Chapter 1 (Telemachus):

In the Martello Tower that sits on the Strand in Dublin, Ireland, live Stephen Dedalus, the moody, brilliant artist; Buck Mulligan, the coarse medical student; and Haines, the English boarder from Oxford. On the morning of June 16, Stephen seems especially upset and Mulligan wonders what's wrong. Turns out that Stephen's mother died about a year ago, and Mulligan has "offended her memory", as Stephen puts it. On her deathbed, Stephen's mother asked him to pray for her, and Stephen refused to. Mulligan gets defensive, and tries to explain away his callousness by saying, "And what is death, your mother's or yours or my own?" The two go downstairs, where Haines is making breakfast. An old milkwoman comes up to deliver their milk. This sequence is particularly important. The milkwoman represents the Shan van Vocht, a character from an old Irish folktale. The Shan van Vocht is an old woman who will turn into a beautiful queen when Ireland starts to become one of the main nations in the world. Mulligan sings his blasphemous song "The Ballad of Joking Jesus", and Haines and Stephen have a conversation, in which Haines comments that England treated Ireland unfairly, and that "it seems history is to blame." They discuss religion a little. Haines comments that "[he] couldn't stomach that idea of a personal God." He also speaks of "the Son striving to be atoned with the Father," a theme important to the book. The tension between Mulligan and Stephen keeps growing; it will come to a head later in the book. Stephen decides that he won't return to the tower that night; "home also I cannot go." Mulligan mentions a friend of theirs, Alec Bannon, who will show up later. Bannon has "found a sweet young thing down there. Photo girl he calls her."

Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him by the mild morning air.

Chapter 2 (Nestor):

Stephen goes off to his job at Garrett Deasy's school. He has his students read "Lycidas", John Milton's elegy on the death of one of his friends by drowning. Stephen asks one boy, Talbot, to recite from "Lycidas". Instead, Talbot reads from a book that he tries to keep hidden under his desk. Stephen knows exactly what the boy is doing, and seems not to care. When Talbot stumbles over a word, Stephen dryly tells him to turn the page over. After the students leave, the headmaster of the school, Deasy, comes into Stephen's classroom. They discuss philosophical matters for a few minutes, after which Deasy gives Stephen a letter to get published in a newspaper.

Mr Deasy laughed with rich delight, putting back his savingsbox.

-I knew you couldn't, he said joyously. But one day you must feel it. We are a generous people but we must also be just.

Chapter 3 (Proteus):

I'm not very familiar with this chapter. In it, Stephen is on the Strand thinking about his life. He sees a woman and a man, and is nearly attacked by a dog. At the end, he starts writing poetry on the back of one of Deasy's letters. He urinates.

Touch me. Soft eyes. Soft soft soft hand. I am lonely here. O, touch me soon, now. What is that word known to all men? I am quiet here alone. Sad too. Touch, touch me.

Chapter 4 (Calypso):

In which we meet our hero, Leopold Bloom, wife of Molly, father of Milly. He's busy preparing his wife's breakfast. Of course, Milly isn't around, she's at Mullingar, where "[t]here is a young student comes here some evenings named Bannon." Bloom has sent her off because he's somewhat aware that his wife is about to take up in an adulterous affair with the dashing singer "Blazes" Boylan. Boylan is always wearing "[s]traw hat...Tan shoes. Turnedup trousers." These clothing items always preclude the appearance of Boylan, who always disrupts Bloom's stream of consciousness, a technique that Joyce perfected. In "Calypso", several themes are introduced that will occur time and time again throughout the book. For instance, the concept of "metempsychosis". Molly, Bloom's wife, reads pornographic books, and reads one that mentions "metempsychosis", or "met-him-pike-hoses", as Molly pronounces it. She asks Bloom to explain it for her, which he quite valiantly tries. At the end of the chapter, Bloom goes to his outhouse and defecates, in a sequence that many readers, including Virginia Woolf, found particularly disgusting.

Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencod's roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.

Chapter 5 (The Lotus-Eaters):

In this chapter, Bloom receives a strange letter from a secret admirer, named Martha Clifford. He's put an advertisement in the newspaper, and is now corresponding under a pseudonym. He buys a bar of soap (which will become a character in itself throughout the book), and some face-lotion for Molly, and at the end of the chapter, goes to a bathhouse. The chapter is full of references to flowers: Bloom's pseudonym, Henry Flower; a flower enclosed in the letter he receives; Bloom picturing himself in the bathtub; his genitals "a languid floating flower". Bloom encounters somebody he's acquainted with, Bantam Lyons, and they talk for a few minutes. Lyons thinks that Bloom is going to bet on a horse named Throwaway in a horserace later that day, and spreads the news.

He foresaw his pale body reclined in it at full, naked, in a womb of warmth, oiled by scented melting soap, softly laved.

Chapter 6 (Hades):

Bloom, Martin Cunningham, Jack Power, and Simon Dedalus, Stephen's father are going to the funeral of one of their friends, Paddy Dignam. The men see Blazes Boylan, which upsets Bloom. At the funeral, a strange Man in a Macintosh coat appears. Joyceans have speculated on M'Intosh's role. Some think he is Joyce himself. Others think he is Death.

-And tell us, Hynes said, do you know that fellow in the, fellow was over there in the . . .

He looked around.

-Macintosh. Yes, I saw him, Mr Bloom said. Where is he now?

-M'Intosh, Hynes said, scribbling, I don't know who he is. Is that his name?

Chapter 7 (Aeolus):

Bloom goes to the newspaper office to conduct business. He gets sent all over the place putting an ad in the paper. He goes to see Myles Crawford, an editor, about the advertisement. Crawford says to Bloom that "[the advertiser] can kiss my royal Irish arse." Stephen makes an appearance, telling a joke that he calls "A Pisgah Sight from Palestine, or the Parable of the Plums."

Red Murray's long shears sliced out the advertisement from the newspaper in four clean strokes. Scissors and paste.

Chapter 8 (The Lestrygonians):

Bloom eats lunch in this chapter. He talks to an old friend, Mrs. Breen, about her husband, who's weird. He received an anonymous postcard reading "U.P.: up", and is trying to sue the person who sent him the postcard. Bloom also talks to Mrs. Breen about Mina Purefoy, who is in labor for a third day.

Glowing wine on his palate lingered swallowed. Crushing in the winepress grapes of Burgundy. Sun's heat it is. Seems to a secret touch telling me memory. Touched his sense moistened remembered. Hidden under wild ferns on Howth below us bay sleeping: sky. No sound. The sky. The bay purple by the Lion's head. Green by Drumleck. Yellowgreen towards Sutton. Fields of undersea, the lines faint brown in grass, buried cities. Pillowed on my coat she had her hair, earwigs in the heather scrub my hand under her nape, you'll toss me all. O wonder! Coolsoft with ointments her hand touched me, caressed: her eyes upon me did not turn away. Ravished over her I lay, full lips full open, kissed her mouth. Yum. Softly she gave me in my mouth the seedcake warm and chewed. Mawkish pulp her mouth had mumbled sweetsour of her spittle. Joy: I ate it: joy. Young life, her lips that gave me pouting. Soft warm sticky gumjelly lips. Flowers her eyes were, take me, willing eyes. Pebbles fell. She lay still. A goat. No-one. High on Ben Howth rhododendrons a nannygoat walking surefooted, dropping currants. Screened under ferns she laughed warmfolded. Wildly I lay on her, kissed her: eyes, her lips, her stretched neck beating, woman's breasts full in her blouse of nun's veiling, fat nipples upright. Hot I tongued her. She kissed me. I was kissed. All yielding she tossed my hair. Kissed, she kissed me.

Me. And me now.

Chapter 9 (Scylla and Charybdis):

Stephen is at the library, discussing "Hamlet" with intellectual friends. They're kind to him, and receptive of his theories. Mulligan arrives at the end of the chapter, ridiculing everybody (including Bloom, who is at the library looking up an ad for work). This chapter has some very interesting stylistic touches.

Urbane, to comfort them, the Quaker librarian purred:

-And we have, have we not, those priceless pages of Wilhelm Meister? A great poet on a great brother poet. A hesitating soul taking arms against a sea of troubles, torn by conflicting doubts, as one sees in real life.

He came a step a sinkapace forward on neatsleather creaking and a step backward a sinkapace on the solemn floor.

Chapter 10 (The Wandering Rocks):

A portrait of several Dublin people, going about their day. Bloom buys a pornographic book for Molly. Stephen talks to his sister, finding out that his family is sinking deeper and deeper into poverty. Boylan buys wine and fruit for Molly. This chapter has several interesting traps, intended to confuse the unwary reader. These traps include things like inserting bits and pieces from other sections of the chapter into random places. At the end of the chapter, there's an interlude, introducing several characters who will figure importantly later in the book.

William Humble, earl of Dudley, and Lady Dudley, accompanied by lieutenantcolonel Hesseltine, drove out after luncheon from the viceregal lodge.

Chapter 11 (The Sirens):

Bloom goes to a Dublin music-room, being mocked by several bawdy bar-maids. Boylan is there. He leaves to go to Bloom's house, increasing Bloom's mental anguish. Bloom surreptitiously corresponds to Martha Clifford's letter, disguising his handwriting, and pretending to be writing a business letter.

Shrill, with deep laughter, after bronze in gold, they urged each other to peal after peal, ringing in changes, bronzegold goldbronze, shrilldeep, to laughter after laughter. And then laughed more. Greasy I knows. Exhausted, breathless their shaken heads they laid, braided and pinnacled by glossycombed, against the counterledge. All flushed (O!), panting, sweating (O!), all breathless.

Chapter 12 (The Cyclops):

This chapter is entirely narrated by an obnoxious, anonymous man, who witnesses the strange events. Bloom goes to a bar, where he meets a violent anti-Semite, the Citizen. Bloom and the Citizen discuss religion and politics. Bloom leaves for a short time, and an acquaintance comes in to say that Bloom won a bet he made in a horserace - a race that Bloom didn't even know was happening. Bloom returns, making the Citizen madder by failing to buy drinks with his newly-won money. At the end, the Citizen physically attacks Bloom, who makes a narrow escape.

-Do you call that a man? says the citizen.

-I wonder did he ever put it out of sight, says Joe.

-Well, there were two children born anyhow, says Jack Power.

-And who does he suspect? says the citizen.

Chapter 13 (Nausicaa):

Bloom, after the unpleasantness of the Citizen, escapes to the Strand to watch the sunset. Three girls - Cissy Caffrey, Edy Boardman, and Gerty Macdowell - are there, babysitting Cissy Caffrey's brothers. The girls see fireworks from a nearby bazaar. Running off with the children, they leave Gerty alone with Bloom, who is nearby. Bloom mentally ages Gerty (who may be no more than 12 years old), transforming her into a sex goddess. He masturbates, after which Gerty and her friends leave.

And then a rocket sprang and bang shot blind and O! then the Roman candle burst and it was like a sigh of O! and everyone cried O! O! in raptures and it gushed out of it a stream of rain gold hair threads and they shed and ah! they were all greeny dewy stars falling with golden, O so lively! O so soft, sweet soft!

Chapter 14 (The Oxen of the Sun):

Bloom goes to a hospital to visit Mina Purefoy, his lady-friend who has been in labor for three days. Stephen and several friends, including Mulligan, are there, being generally profane and obnoxious. The students go to a bar. Stephen is drunk, and he has money. This is a good thing for his friends, who he buys drinks for. Bloom takes Stephen under his wing. The chapter ends in a strange chatter of voices, making sense only upon close examination. One of Stephen's friends is Milly's lover, who is trying to acquire a condom. Bloom may be aware of this, which makes him even more upset.

The voices blend and fuse in clouded silence: silence that is the infinite of space: and swiftly, silently the soul is wafted over regions of cycles of cycles of generations that have lived.

Chapter 15 (Circe):

The longest chapter of the book, this chapter takes place in the sinister Nighttown district of Dublin, where Stephen and his friend Lynch have gone. Bloom follows them. While trying to find them, he is subjected to several hallucinations, including a trial involving all the sins of his past, Molly's chastising specter, and a fantasy of becoming the king of Ireland. He finally finds Stephen and Lynch in a brothel, where Bloom hallucinates turning into a woman and being abused by the madam, who has turned into a man. Stephen hallucinates the ghost of his mother, who begs him to return to the church. He smashes a chandelier, and runs out of the brothel, whereupon he is insulted by two soldiers. At the end of the chapter, he is knocked unconscious by one of the soldiers. Bloom takes care of Stephen, making sure no further harm comes to him.