![]() ![]() This is an unusually direct kind of symbolism in Ulysses, and it should settle any doubts the reader may have about whether Stephen’s struggle with his own identity and parenthood really makes him a stand-in for Hamlet and Jesus.Ulysses is the Latin form of the Greek Odysseus, the mythological hero central to Homer’s epic poem the “Odyssey” (written in the 8th century B.C.). Haines bluntly points out the clear metaphorical link between Hamlet, Christian tradition, and the idea of fatherhood. For Stephen, “omphalos” refers to the way the Martello tower is the center of his world and literary ambitions, and also the starting point of the novel, the place that links it to other traditions (like an umbilical cord, which creates a human navel). Secondly, it refers to Calypso’s island, the “navel of the sea,” where Odysseus is stranded at the start of the Odyssey. First, the word “omphalos” refers to the Oracle at Delphi (the fortunetelling priestess whose temple was believed to lie at the navel, or center, of the world). The comparison between the tower and an “omphalos,” the Greek word for navel, is an example of how Joyce layers different allusions in order to create strong associations between his characters, their aspirations, and literary tradition. This is also the main connection between Stephen and Hamlet, who faces a similar kind of struggle against fate and meets his dead father as a ghost. Of course, this is also a commentary on the relationship between reality and literature, which can break reality’s rules but never fully correct its flaws. He constantly imagines doing so, but he knows that this will only ever be a fantasy. But he also knows that he can neither bring his mother back to life nor go back into the past and pray for her. Now, a year later, he views this decision as a mistake and intensely regrets it. Because he did not believe in God, he did not want to pray for his dying mother, even though she wanted him to. Stephen gave up on religion in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Joyce’s previous novel, which narrates Stephen’s upbringing). Stephen’s mother’s death is absolutely central to understanding him as a character. ![]() Haines’s presence in Stephen’s home clearly represents British colonialism in Ireland, and Buck’s nicknames for Stephen allude to his literary aspirations. As later becomes clear in the novel, Greece also represents Ireland, while Rome (and its Christian tradition) represents England Greece represents the intellect (which is associated with Stephen Dedalus) while Rome represents practicality (which is associated with Leopold Bloom) and Greece represents the lost origins-or paternity-that Western artists and thinkers are trying to recover (much like Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom try to redeem their own bloodlines in the novel). This contrast reveals another important tension in the novel: seriousness versus satire, or the tragic versus the comic. Meanwhile, Stephen seems to take both traditions absolutely seriously. But Buck mocks both of these traditions, pointing out what he sees as their meaninglessness, but also revealing his own absurdity as a character. This word is a reference to Buck’s wit as a speaker, but also to the tension between Greek and Christian traditions in Western culture, which is absolutely central to this scene. Similarly, “chrysostomos” is an obscure epithet commonly used for great Greek philosophers and Orthodox bishops (most notably St. For instance, few readers are likely to immediately understand that “Kinch” is both an Irish slang word for a child and Buck’s interpretation of the sound of a knife (and therefore a reference to how “sharp,” or intelligent, Stephen is). This opening scene introduces readers to Joyce’s complex, allusive, and often indirect style, which turns everyday events into rich metaphors. But actually, just as the Odyssey starts with the story of Odysseus’s son, Ulysses starts with the story of Stephen Dedalus, who soon proves to be a kind of surrogate or symbolic son to the novel’s real protagonist, Leopold Bloom. From this first episode, it would be easy to mistakenly assume that Stephen Dedalus (or even Buck Mulligan) is the protagonist of Ulysses. At the beginning of the Odyssey, Telemachus sets off on a journey to look for news about his father’s whereabouts. Telemachus is Odysseus’s son, who is yearning for his father to return from the Trojan War. This episode, like all the episodes (or episodes) in Ulysses, corresponds to a specific section of The Odyssey.
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