Summary
Ulysses, published in 1922, is widely regarded as James Joyce's masterpiece and one of the most important and influential novels of the 20th century. Set over the course of a single day in Dublin on June 16, 1904, it follows the wanderings of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, drawing parallels to Homer's Odyssey. The stream-of-consciousness style and experimental prose pushed the boundaries of the novel form.
Initially deemed obscene and banned in several countries, Ulysses faced legal challenges before being recognized as a work of literary genius. Its sprawling narrative incorporates an encyclopedic range of literary styles and allusions, while delving deep into the psyche of its characters. Joyce's virtuosic wordplay and complex structure have made Ulysses both celebrated and notoriously difficult to read.
While there have been several film and stage adaptations, Joseph Strick's 1967 movie version starring Milo O'Shea as Leopold Bloom is perhaps the most well-known. However, many argue the novel's intricate prose and interior monologues make it inherently challenging to adapt to other media. Ulysses continues to inspire artists and provoke scholarly debate nearly a century after its publication.
Plot
Joyce's novel Ulysses chronicles a single day in Dublin on June 16, 1904. The story follows three main characters: Stephen Dedalus, a young aspiring writer; Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jewish advertising canvasser; and Molly Bloom, Leopold's unfaithful wife. The narrative begins with Stephen teaching at a school and interacting with acquaintances, while across the city Leopold starts his day and runs errands around Dublin.
As Leopold moves through the city, he attends a funeral, visits a newspaper office and a pub, and has various encounters and internal musings. Meanwhile, Stephen quits his teaching job and wanders Dublin, ending up at a brothel. Leopold's wanderings are in part motivated by his desire to avoid going home, as he knows his wife Molly is having an affair with her concert manager Blazes Boylan that afternoon.
In the evening, Leopold comes across a drunken Stephen at the brothel and decides to look after the younger man. They go to Leopold's house, where Leopold offers Stephen a place to stay for the night, which Stephen declines. After Stephen leaves, Leopold goes to bed with Molly, who is already asleep.
The novel concludes with an unpunctuated stream-of-consciousness monologue from Molly's perspective, reflecting on her life and marriage as she lies in bed next to Leopold. Her famous soliloquy ends with memories of accepting Leopold's marriage proposal, repeating “yes I said yes I will Yes."
Themes
The odyssey of everyday life
The relationship between fathers and sons
The nature of love, sexuality and marriage
Irish nationalism and British colonialism
The role of women in society
The power of language and literature
The search for meaning and identity
Setting
Joyce's Ulysses takes place on a single day: June 16, 1904, in Dublin, Ireland. This date, now celebrated as “Bloomsday,” was chosen by Joyce because it was the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle. The novel unfolds over 18 episodes that parallel Homer's Odyssey, following the wanderings of the two main characters, Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, through the streets of Dublin.
The larger geographical setting is Dublin in the early 20th century, when Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom. Joyce meticulously recreates the city, mentioning over 300 real Dublin locations throughout the novel. Key areas featured include the Martello tower in Sandycove where Stephen lives, the newspaper offices on Middle Abbey Street, Davy Byrne's pub on Duke Street, the National Library, and the Ormond Hotel along the River Liffey.
Within this detailed portrayal of Dublin, Joyce explores the social and political landscape of early 1900s Ireland. The characters navigate issues like Irish nationalism, British colonialism, and religious tensions between Catholics and Protestants. Through interior monologues and stream-of-consciousness techniques, Joyce also delves into the psychological terrain of his characters, making the internal world of thoughts and memories an equally important setting for the novel's action.
Characters
Leopold Bloom: The protagonist and hero of the novel. A Jewish advertising canvasser in his late 30s living in Dublin. Kind-hearted but often passive, he wanders the city over the course of June 16, 1904, reflecting on life, love, and loss. His thoughts and experiences form the core of the novel's narrative.
Molly Bloom: Leopold's wife. A passionate, sensual woman who is having an affair with Blazes Boylan. Her stream-of-consciousness monologue forms the novel's final chapter, providing insight into her marriage and sexuality.
Stephen Dedalus: A young aspiring writer and intellectual, previously featured as the protagonist of Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Grieving his mother's recent death, he wanders Dublin engaging in philosophical musings before meeting Bloom.
Buck Mulligan: Stephen's roommate at the Martello tower. An irreverent medical student who mocks Stephen's grief and intellectual pretensions.
Blazes Boylan: Molly's lover and manager of her singing career. His impending visit to Molly weighs heavily on Bloom's mind throughout the day.
Gerty MacDowell: A young woman Bloom encounters on Sandymount Strand. She serves as the subject of his voyeuristic fantasies.
Mina Purefoy: A woman giving birth in the maternity hospital Bloom visits. Her labor serves as a backdrop for discussions of fertility and contraception.
Quick facts
It took Joyce 7 years to write Ulysses, from 1914 to 1921.
The entire novel takes place on a single day: June 16, 1904. This date is now celebrated annually as “Bloomsday".
Ulysses was initially serialized in parts in an American journal from 1918-1920, but was banned for obscenity before being published in full.
The book contains approximately 265,000 words and uses a vocabulary of about 30,000 words.
Joyce claimed to have put so many enigmas and puzzles in Ulysses that it would “keep the professors busy for centuries".
The novel is structured to parallel Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, with characters and events mirroring those in the ancient Greek work.
The famous final chapter consists of eight long “sentences” and over 24,000 words without punctuation.
Ulysses was banned in the United States until 1934 when a landmark court ruling declared it was not obscene.
The first edition published in 1922 contained over 2,000 errors. Subsequent editions have continued to debate and revise the text.
In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Ulysses first on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
About the Author
James Joyce was an influential Irish novelist and poet who made groundbreaking contributions to modernist literature in the early 20th century. Born in Dublin in 1882, Joyce left Ireland as a young man and spent most of his adult life in self-imposed exile in cities like Trieste, Paris and Zürich. Despite living abroad, Dublin remained the setting and inspiration for much of his work.
Joyce's major works include the short story collection Dubliners (1914), the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Ulysses (1922), and his final experimental novel Finnegans Wake (1939). Ulysses, considered Joyce's masterpiece, pioneered stream-of-consciousness writing and paralleled Homer's Odyssey in a single day in Dublin. Its innovative style and explicit content led to its initial banning in several countries.
Throughout his career, Joyce pushed the boundaries of language and literary form. He developed complex narrative techniques like interior monologue and utilized inventive wordplay and allusions. While Joyce's works were often controversial and challenging for readers, they had a profound influence on 20th century fiction. His life and writings continue to be widely studied and celebrated, with annual “Bloomsday” events held around the world.
Joyce battled failing eyesight for much of his life and underwent numerous eye surgeries. He died in Zürich in 1941 at the age of 58, leaving behind a literary legacy that secured his place as one of the most important writers of the modernist era. Though Joyce spent most of his life outside Ireland, his writings remained deeply rooted in Dublin, which he once claimed could be rebuilt using his works as a model.
