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Episode 15: Circe
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ulysses, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Alienation and the Quest for Belonging
Literature, Meaning, and Perspective
Love and Sex
Fate vs. Free Will
Religion, Atheism, and Philosophy
Irish Identity and Nationalism
Summary
Analysis
This episode is written in the complicated and imprecise style of someone who is trying too hard to sound sophisticated. It opens with Bloom helping Stephen stand up. Stephen asks for something to drink, and Bloom suggests that “they might hit upon some drinkables” at the cabman’s shelter near Butt Bridge. They fail to hire a taxi and decide to walk, although Bloom is uncomfortable with his missing trouser button.
In the Odyssey, when Odysseus returns home to Ithaca, he visits the swineherd Eumaeus in disguise as a beggar. He invents an elaborate lie to explain who he is, and he waits at Eumaeus’s hut to reunite with his son Telemachus. This episode marks the beginning of the final section of the novel, which is focused on Bloom’s homecoming. The cabman Skin-the-Goat represents Eumaeus, and the episode is full of mistaken identities and tall tales that represent Odysseus’s disguise and invented backstory. Bloom’s meeting with Stephen also corresponds to Odysseus’s meeting with Telemachus. The episode is written in a version of Leopold Bloom’s voice. Its dreary, leisurely style reflects the fact that Bloom and Stephen are extremely tired. And its numerous clichés and clumsy turns of phrase indicate how Bloom might write if he finally got around to composing some short stories for the newspaper, like he’s always wanted to.
Themes
As they walk through Dublin, Bloom notes the passing scenery—the railway station, morgue, police station, and bakery—while Stephen thinks about Ibsen, the Norwegian playwright. Stephen is still very drunk, but Bloom is “in fact disgustingly sober.” Bloom lectures Stephen on the dangers of nighttown, drinking, and trusting the police. He points out that all but one of Stephen’s friends abandoned him, and Stephen comments that his one loyal friend, Lynch, ended up being “Judas.”
Because of their different priorities and worldviews, Bloom and Stephen think about totally different things while they walk through Dublin. It’s almost as if they were in two different worlds. Bloom is giving Stephen well-intentioned fatherly advice, which he hopes will both help the young man and fulfill his own need to feel important and helpful to others. But Stephen doesn’t seem to even understand that Bloom is going out of his way to help care for him.
Themes
Stephen passes Gumley, a watchman who knows his father, and hides to avoid having to greet him. Then, Stephen runs into his friend Corley, who is broke and unemployed. Stephen suggests that Corley take over his job at Mr. Deasy’s school, but Corley explains that he was a terrible student. Stephen admits that he doesn’t have a place to sleep, and Corley recommends a boarding-house.
Themes
Corley asks Stephen for money, and Stephen sticks his hand in his pocket and realizes that his money is missing. He finds some coins in his other pocket and lends one to Corley, thinking it’s a penny. (It’s actually two and a half shillings.) Corley vaguely promises to pay Stephen back, comments that he’s seen Bloom before, and asks if Stephen can put a word in with Bloom about an advertising job with Boylan for the Hely’s sandwichboards.
Themes
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Bloom watches Corley and Stephen’s conversation from a distance, glancing critically at Corley’s poor attire. After Corley leaves, Stephen walks over to Bloom and mentions the advertising job, but Bloom avoids the topic. Instead, he asks how much Stephen lent Corley and where Stephen plans to sleep, since the Martello tower in Sandycove is too far. Bloom asks why Stephen moved out of his father Simon Dedalus’s house, and Stephen says it was “to seek misfortune.” Bloom praises Simon and suggests that he would be happy to have Stephen return.
Themes
Bloom remembers how Buck Mulligan and Haines left Stephen behind at the train station. Meanwhile Stephen remembers having breakfast at home with his siblings. Bloom comments that Stephen shouldn’t trust Buck Mulligan, who is clearly taking advantage of him. Bloom doesn’t know what to make of Stephen’s “morose expression.”
Themes
Bloom and Stephen pass a group of Italian men arguing by an ice cream cart, then they reach the modest wooden cabman’s shelter, which is supposedly run by the famous Invincible Skin-the-Goat Fitzharris. Bloom and Stephen order food while the other patrons stare at them. Bloom comments on the beauty of the Italian language, but Stephen points out that the Italians outside were arguing about money. The shelter-keeper brings their coffee and bun, and Stephen declares that sounds and names are meaningless.
Themes
A drunken red-haired sailor asks for Stephen’s name, and when Stephen says “Dedalus,” he asks if Stephen knows Simon Dedalus. Stephen says he’s “heard of him.” The sailor declares that Simon Dedalus is a true Irishman and acts out a story about him shooting eggs off bottles while performing for the circus in Stockholm. The man introduces himself as Murphy and says that he lives by the harbor. He reports that his wife is there, but he hasn’t seen her in seven years because he’s been sailing. Bloom imagines Murphy returning to find her with a new husband and family.
Themes
Murphy explains that he came in on the three-mast ship Rosevan with bricks that morning. He talks about sailing all over the world and shows a picture of native people he met in Bolivia. Bloom sees that this picture is really a postcard from Chile. Bloom starts fantasizing about his plan to take a trip to London, perhaps in combination with a future concert tour of Molly’s. He also muses that opening more travel routes between England and Ireland would be a great business opportunity, and that it’s a shame that common people can’t afford to travel. He thinks of the great tourist spots in Ireland and wonders if tourist traffic leads to new travel routes, or new routes create tourist traffic.
Themes
Murphy continues telling his stories, recounting a stabbing he witnessed in Italy and pulling out a knife to re-enact it. He comments on the Invincibles’ Phoenix Park murders, and Bloom and Stephen are glad to see that Skin-the-Goat doesn’t notice what Murphy is saying. Bloom asks Murphy if he’s “seen the rock of Gibraltar,” but he can’t figure out what Murphy’s grimacing expression means. He asks what year, but Murphy says he’s “tired of all them rocks in the sea” and stops talking. Meanwhile, Bloom ponders the vastness of the ocean, wonders why people seek it out, decides there probably isn’t any good reason, and concludes that sailors and harbor-masters perform a great public service.
Themes
Murphy comments that one of his colleagues gave up sailing to be a valet, while his teenaged son Danny just left a stable job to become a sailor. The sailor scratches at the tattoo of an anchor on his chest and complains of lice. He shows off his other tattoos: the number sixteen and the profile of a Greek man named Antonio. He pulls on his skin to make Antonio smile, which the other men find amusing, then reports that Antonio got eaten by sharks.
Themes
A raggedy prostitute passes the cabman’s shelter, and Bloom anxiously hides his face behind a newspaper because he realizes that he knows her. (She’s the woman he saw outside the Ormond Hotel, after the concert in the “Sirens” episode.) Bloom tells Stephen that he can’t believe how any reasonable man would sleep with “a wretched creature like that,” but Stephen comments that people also do far worse in Ireland by buying and selling souls. Bloom comments that the government should license and regulate prostitutes.
Themes
Bloom asks Stephen what he believes about the soul. Bloom himself believes in the physical “brainpower” that scientists have discovered, while Stephen recites the Church’s official definition of the soul as an immortal, incorruptible simple substance. Bloom protests that people aren’t “simple” and says that there’s an obvious difference between humans’ great material achievements and the work of an immaterial, supernatural God. Stephen nonchalantly claims that the Bible has proven God’s existence, while Bloom proclaims that the Bible was probably put together by a bunch different people, perhaps like the so-called works of Shakespeare.
Themes
Stirring the horrible coffee, Bloom muses that the cabman’s shelter does a great social service by providing working-class Dubliners with sober entertainment. But he also resents how little they once paid Molly to play the piano there, and he decides that the shelter needs a sanitation inspection. Bloom gives Stephen the coffee and urges him to eat better, and Stephen tells Bloom to put away a knife that “reminds [him] of Roman history.”
Themes
Bloom asks whether Stephen thinks Murphy’s stories are true, and he points out that the man could just as well be a convict or a liar as a sailor. At the same time, Bloom comments, he’s seen enough in his time to know that the stories certainly could be true. He points out that Italians and Spaniards are especially passionate, and he starts talking about Molly (who, he argues, is basically Spanish). Stephen starts rambling about Italian artists, and Bloom argues that the Mediterranean sun is responsible for Italian and Spanish people’s remarkable temperament—and their women’s figures, he adds, remembering the statues at the Kildare Street museum.
Themes
The other men in the shelter chat about shipwrecks, and then the sailor Murphy walks out to the street, drinks from one of the bottles he’s concealing in his back pocket, and starts urinating. This disturbs the sentry Gumley—a hopeless alcoholic who falls right back asleep. Meanwhile, the men discuss Ireland’s struggling shipping industry, and Skin-the-Goat suggests that a certain shipwreck in Galway was really an English plot to stop a development project in Galway Bay. Murphy returns inside and sings a vulgar limerick.
Themes
Skin-the-Goat praises Ireland’s rich natural resources and fertile soil, then warns that England’s “day of reckoning” is coming soon. He proclaims that Ireland will bring England down and tells his compatriots to stay in their country and work for its common benefit. Murphy proclaims that Ireland’s sailors and soldiers are the British Empire’s “backbone,” but Skin-the-Goat argues that no Irishman should serve the British.
Themes
Meanwhile, Bloom thinks that the British are much stronger than they let on. But he doesn’t want to get involved in the conversation. Bloom remembers that Skin-the-Goat is a known criminal—although, Bloom admits, his political courage is admirable. That said, Skin-the-Goat only drove the getaway car, and he’s long past his prime. Bloom tells Stephen about his fight with the citizen and repeats his punchline: that Christ was Jewish. Stephen expresses his agreement in Latin. Bloom argues that countries should cooperate on the basis of equality and proclaims that he “resent[s] violence and intolerance in any shape or form,” which are always counterproductive. All these disputes over honor and power are really about money, he continues.
Themes
Bloom tells Stephen that Jews have enriched Europe, not corrupted it, because of their practical spirit. He thinks that Catholicism makes people weak by telling them to focus on going to heaven, rather than living better lives on Earth. He believes that the truly important goal is for everyone to have a decent income, regardless of their identities or beliefs, as long as they’re willing to work. “Count me out,” Stephen replies when Bloom mentions working. Bloom clarifies that “literary labour” counts too, and he says that Stephen should be able to make a good salary with all his education. Stephen jokes that he doesn’t belong to Ireland: Ireland belongs to him. Bloom doesn’t understand, and Stephen proposes changing the subject.
Themes
Bloom is confused at Stephen’s response, and he starts to wonder what’s responsible for the young man’s bad mood: the night’s revelries or a poor upbringing. He thinks about other brilliant young people who let themselves fall into “premature decay,” like the eccentric O’Callaghan, who started walking around in a paper suit and then got in trouble with the law. Even royals and other nobility behave scandalously and immorally from time to time—perhaps, Bloom hypothesizes, this could be because society forces people to dress differently depending on gender.
Themes
Regardless, Bloom concludes that befriending Stephen was a good investment: the boy might get rich on his wits, the intellectual stimulation was enjoyable, and the men shared an interesting adventure. Bloom considers trying to write about what he saw and hopes he can make money for it. He scans the Telegraph headlines and reads Hynes’s obituary of Dignam. He points out that, in the list of mourners, his name was misspelled “Boom,” while “Stephen Dedalus B.A.” was erroneously listed as present. Stephen asks if Deasy’s letter is in the paper, but he turns it into an elaborate Biblical joke. Bloom gives Stephen the corresponding section and then skims through the horserace results.
Themes
The cabmen chat about whether Parnell will return to Ireland. Bloom thinks that this rumor is bogus: Parnell is dead and people aren’t willing to accept it. He remembers once helping Parnell pick up his hat. Then, he starts thinking about a famous case when an impostor falsely claimed to be a lost nobleman.
Themes
The cabmen chat derisively about Kitty O’Shea, the woman who ruined Parnell’s political career, then break out into laughter. Meanwhile, Bloom thinks about Parnell and O’Shea’s love letters and the bombastic trial that took them down. He thinks that O’Shea’s husband was simply inadequate, leading her to fall for the “real man,” Parnell, who forgot his own wife in the process. Bloom asks if married couples can truly love each other, and he laments the way Parnell’s allies turned against him. He reflects on how Dublin has changed with the times, and he says that O’Shea was half-Spanish, just like Molly.
Themes
Bloom tells Stephen about the resemblance between Molly and Kitty O’Shea. Stephen responds with a typically incomprehensible rant about the Spanish. Bloom shows Stephen a picture of Molly standing at a piano and asks if she looks Spanish. Stephen stares at Molly’s chest, and Bloom thinks about how a different outfit could have better accentuated her curves. Bloom considers letting Stephen keep looking at the photo for a few minutes, because he feels an urge to go into the street to “satisfy a possible need.” But he decides against it. Bloom feels a sense of appreciation for Stephen’s presence, then starts thinking about affairs and love triangles.
Themes
Bloom’s mind returns to Parnell, “Erin’s uncrowned king,” and the way he shaped his public image after his affair became public. Again, Bloom returns to his memory of helping Parnell pick up his hat. Bloom feels offended when the cabmen laugh about Parnell, acting as if they knew the whole story. In reality, Bloom thinks adultery is a private matter—except when the husband is alright with it. For instance, sometimes they approve when their wives get tired of marriage and engage in “polite debauchery” with younger men.
Themes
Bloom regrets the fact that Stephen prefers to sleep with prostitutes, rather than looking for “Miss Right.” Feeling protective, Bloom asks when Stephen last had a meal, and he’s “literally astounded” when Stephen says that he hasn’t eaten since yesterday. Bloom sympathizes with Stephen, who reminds him of his own idealistic flirtation with politics as a young man.
Themes
It’s nearly one o’clock, and Bloom thinks it’s time to head home. He worries that Molly will react badly if he takes Stephen with him (like the time he brought a dog home). But Stephen also clearly can’t make it home to Sandycove on his own. Bloom wonders if he can invite Stephen over and help him out financially without offending him. Meanwhile, Bloom thinks that the sailor Murphy is more likely headed to the brothel than to his wife at home. Bloom laughs to himself about his great realization that God is Jewish. Pocketing the photo of Molly, he asks if Stephen wants to come “talk things over” at his home and have some cocoa. Stephen doesn’t respond.
Themes
Bloom imagines “all kinds of Utopian plans” for what Stephen can achieve as a writer and singer. The cabdriver reads out news about the cabdrivers’ association, then passes the newspaper over to Murphy the sailor, who puts on thick green goggles and reads articles about sports. Bloom gets up, pays the bill, and leads Stephen out to the street.
Themes
On the way out of the cabbies’ shelter, Stephen asks Bloom why cafes leave the chairs on top of the tables at night. Bloom explains that it’s for cleaning in the mornings. Bloom holds Stephen’s arm to help him walk, and the men pass Gumley’s shelter.
Themes
Stephen and Bloom start talking about music. Bloom finds Wagner “too heavy” but likes the composers Mercadante, Meyerbeer, and Mozart. He also prefers Catholic sacred music to Protestant hymns. He praises Molly’s talent singing Rossini and Don Giovanni, and he comments on Simon Dedalus’s excellent rendition of “M’appari” earlier that night. Stephen, on the other hand, talks about older composers who were contemporaries with Shakespeare.
Themes
Bloom and Stephen pass a brutish old horse, which is dragging a street-sweeping brush behind it. Bloom pities the animal. He comments that Molly will be glad to meet Stephen, as they’re both passionate about music, and Stephen starts singing a German song about sirens calling out to men from across the sea. Bloom compliments Stephen’s voice and points out that he could build a successful career as a singer and still dedicate his spare time to literature. But Bloom suggests that Stephen distance himself from his nasty friend (Buck Mulligan). Just then, the horse raises its tail and drops three round turds on the street. Then, Stephen finishes his song. The horse driver watches him and Bloom from a distance.
Themes
