Ulysses - Episode 15 - Circe

[Ally]

Please use this thread to discuss Episode 15 - Circe of...

Ulyssesby James Joyce

[Jan C]

Questions/comments from the Evanston, IL, Public Library discussion group:

Time and Place: Midnight, The Brothel.

“Circe” is stylized like a play. Why do you think Joyce chose a dramatic framework for this episode? Do you feel that the drama Joyce stages reflects real life?

Stuart Gilbert contends that “All these hallucinations […] are amplifications of some real circumstances, they have logic of their own and are not mere empty visions.” Consider reality vs. hallucination in this episode.

Compare Stephen and Bloom’s experiences in nighttown.

Who or what prompts Blooms hallucinations of dominance? Submission? Who are his hallucinatory allies? Enemies?

How did you handle the obscene and offensive nature of “Circe”?

In The Odyssey, Circe instructs Odysseus to travel to Hades to speak with Tiresias, who will give him a prophesy that leads him home. What is Bloom’s prophesy?

Where do you see vibrant moments of repetition?

How might this episode be a portrait of Ireland as a repressed people?

Consider the “Circe” episode in light of the first episode: “Telemachus.”

Does Bloom redeem himself at the end of the episode? What do you think about Rudy's reappearance?

Organ: Locomotor Apparatus * Art: Magic * Color: None * Symbol: Whore - Technic: Hallucination