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
Martin Cunningham, Mr. Power, Simon Dedalus, and Leopold Bloom get into a carriage to join Dignam’s funeral procession. Bloom notices an old woman looking at them, and after some time, they start moving slowly through Dublin. Sitting uncomfortably on the bar of soap in his pocket, Bloom notices Stephen Dedalus pass their carriage, dressed in black for mourning. But Simon Dedalus doesn’t see him; instead, he complains about his son’s friendship with Buck Mulligan, a “bloody doubledeyed ruffian” who he thinks will “ruin” Stephen. Bloom starts thinking about how his own son, Rudy, would be if he had survived and grown up. He remembers the day he and Molly conceived Rudy and thinks about how his daughter, Milly, is coming of age.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus visits Hades, the land of the dead, where the prophet Tiresias gives him advice on the trials that lie ahead during his journey home to Ithaca. In Ulysses, Leopold Bloom confronts death in a distinctively modern way: by ceremoniously crossing downtown Dublin and attending a friend’s funeral. For the first of many times, Bloom and Stephen Dedalus’s paths cross. The fact that Simon Dedalus doesn’t recognize his son is a testament to the distance and ill will between them. Still, even though he can’t recognize Stephen, Simon can still tell that Buck is a bad influence. (It’s really obvious to everyone who knows him.) Ironically, Stephen is also dressed for mourning, even though he’s not going to Dignam’s funeral—he’s still mourning for his mother. When the topic of death comes up, it’s natural that Bloom starts to think about his son, who represented the future, bloodline, and happy family that fate have tragically cut off for him. But it’s significant that he thinks about Rudy right after thinking about Stephen—this is the first of many symbolic links between the two, which sets up Stephen as a kind of symbolic replacement for Rudy.
Themes
The men notice that the cramped carriage is full of breadcrumbs, and they comment on the other guests attending the funeral. When the carriage stops by the gas plant and dogs’ home, Bloom thinks of Milly’s childhood illnesses and his father’s beloved dog Athos. The men discuss Tom Kernan’s impressive singing last night and Dan Dawson’s speech, which has been printed in the newspaper. Bloom pulls out the newspaper, but scans the obituaries instead. The men’s carriage passes a school, the cab stand from the previous episode, the railway controlman’s stand, and numerous Dublin landmarks like the Queen’s Theatre. Bloom remembers tearing up Martha’s letter and wonders about the performance of Leah that night.
The details that Joyce includes in the cab-ride scene show off his incredibly deep and wide-ranging knowledge of Dublin, which is key to the realistic texture of all his work (but especially Ulysses). His remarkable attention to detail has also inspired fans to reenact scenes like this one and preserve many of the places and traditions mentioned in the novel. Bloom and the other men politely chatter on, but they’re clearly not close friends—their conversation is nothing like the boisterous talk that fills Dublin pubs during the episodes set later in the day.
Themes
Then, Bloom remembers that “he’s coming in the afternoon” just as the carriage passes by Blazes Boylan. Bloom gazes at his fingernails and asks what “they she sees” in Blazes Boylan, “worst man in Dublin.” He ponders Molly’s aging body, which he still finds delightful and shapely. Mr. Power politely asks about Molly’s concert tour, and Bloom explains that he can’t go due to business commitments, but several respected musicians will be accompanying Molly’s singing. Bloom is delighted when Mr. Power calls Molly “madame,” and he starts wondering what she is doing now. (She’s probably humming “Là ci darem” and getting dressed.)
Bloom clearly knows about Molly’s affair, but he almost never refers to Blazes Boylan by name, which suggests that he’s trying to repress his distress and anxiety. His wandering mind even appears to conjure Boylan up in the kind of literary coincidence that makes it absolutely clear who he's thinking about. Readers will later see that it’s both ironic and insightful when Bloom calls Boylan the “worst man in Dublin.” It’s ironic because Boylan is extremely popular, and it’s insightful because Boylan is a superficial man with little integrity or moral direction. Bloom not attending Molly’s concert tour may have something to do with Boylan’s presence, and Mr. Power may or may not know about her affair (and be asking in order to poke fun at Bloom). Bloom’s love for his wife mixes with his disdain for Boylan, and when Bloom imagines Molly singing the seduction song "Là ci darem,” he's clearly thinking about her infidelity again, too.
Themes
Cunningham, Dedalus, Power, and Bloom pass Reuben J, laugh at him, and chat about how his son tried to drown himself in the Liffey, but a boatman pulled him out and saved him. Reuben gave the boatman a florin (two shillings) for his trouble, which Simon Dedalus jokes is far too much. They fondly remember Paddy Dignam, who died suddenly a few days ago. (Bloom privately attributes Dignam’s death to alcoholism and then comments that it’s best to die quickly, but nobody responds.)
The men’s disparaging commentary about Reuben J. Dodd reeks of thinly-veiled anti-Semitism (and veiled only because of Bloom’s presence). It also repeats the key motifs of drowning and suicide, Then, they finally acknowledge the reason they’ve assembled—Dignam’s death—and try to make the best of it, even though they all know that tragedies like death are unavoidable and irreversible.
Themes
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The men pass another funeral procession carrying a tiny child’s coffin. Bloom again remembers his son Rudy, and Power comments that suicide is “the greatest disgrace to have in the family,” but Cunningham insists that it’s “not for us to judge.” Bloom is grateful for Cunningham’s sympathy; he reflects on the Catholic disdain for suicide and infanticide, and he remembers Cunningham’s difficult home life with his alcoholic wife. Then, Bloom remembers finding his father dead of an overdose in a hotel room. The carriage rattles on the cobblestones and passes Bloom’s house in Eccles Street, then a hospice that again reminds Bloom of death.
As Bloom grapples with death in this episode, his father and son’s tragic deaths are always in the back of his mind. But in this brief section, they rush back to the forefront of his thoughts. Even though Cunningham (who knows about Bloom’s father) sympathetically steps in to defend Bloom, Power’s comment makes it clear how other Dubliners are likely to judge Bloom and his family. Bloom clearly feels disgraced himself, as he struggles to build a family that isn’t defined by his father and son’s deaths.
Themes
A herd of cattle and a flock of sheep march through the streets, blocking the carriage’s path. “Emigrants,” quips Mr. Power, noting that the animals are probably heading to England for slaughter. Bloom points out that it would be far more efficient to transport the animals by tram. They could make another tram for funeral processions, too. Cunningham remembers how a hearse turned over at the corner they’re approaching, and Bloom imagines Dignam’s corpse falling out of its coffin onto the street. As the carriage crosses another bridge, Bloom considers paying Milly a surprise visit. But after passing a miserable tramp and a house where the Childs murder took place, Bloom decides not to visit Milly unannounced.
Power’s joke about the animals is really a comment on Ireland’s political situation: because of English rule, Irish people are emigrating to other countries (mostly the U.S.) and Ireland’s animals are being sent abroad to feed the English. Bloom’s tramline proposal yet again reveals his sharp mind for business, and also the way that 20th century technologies are reshaping Dublin into a modern metropolis, run on technology and consumer capitalism. There’s a kind of two-way communication between the city and the men in the carriage: the city affects their thoughts and impressions (like when it makes Bloom change his mind about visiting Milly), but the men also give significance to certain places they see in town (like when they remember where the hearse turned over and the Childs murder occurred).
Themes
The carriage reaches Prospect Cemetery and the men step out. Bloom sees the mourners from another funeral leave and watches men carry Dignam’s coffin inside. Cunningham tells Power that Bloom’s father poisoned himself, while Bloom asks Kernan about Dignam’s life insurance and expresses his sympathies for Dignam’s wife and children. Simon Dedalus and Ned Lambert chat about events in their hometown of Cork. Bloom looks at Dignam’s son and imagines his pain. The funeral services begin. Bloom kneels with everyone else and listens to the Latin prayers, which he doesn’t understand. Bloom imagines Father Coffey conducting the same funeral ceremony over and over again every day, all year, and figures he must have a “tiresome kind of a job.”
Cunningham alerts Power to his gaffe, which is ironic because Power was careful to be overly polite and courteous to Bloom when talking about Molly (whom he called “madame”). While the other men mostly chat about things affecting themselves, Bloom takes the time to ask about the Dignam’s family’s insurance situation, which shows his genuine sense of empathy and goodwill for the family. In other words, Bloom is fundamentally a kind and caring person—and more importantly, he’s like this while the majority of Dubliners clearly are not. Again, these religious rituals remind the reader that Bloom is fundamentally an outsider, but this outsider status lets him make interesting comments on the clergy that God-fearing Catholics would probably avoid.
Themes
The gravediggers carry Dignam’s coffin out to the churchyard and the mourners follow. Simon Dedalus breaks down when he thinks of his late wife, who is buried nearby. Tom Kernan criticizes Father Coffey for rushing through the ceremony and comments that he prefers the Church of Ireland’s Protestant ceremonies. Bloom thinks about what happens when people’s hearts stop pumping blood, and he feels that resurrection is impossible. John Henry Menton asks Ned Lambert who Bloom is, and Lambert explains that he’s Molly Tweedy’s husband, an ad canvasser. Menton is surprised—he thinks Molly can do far better than Leopold Bloom. Then, John O’Connell, the cemetery caretaker, arrives and tells a joke about two drunks mistaking a statue of Jesus for one of the deceased.
Dignam’s death reminds Simon Dedalus of his own personal tragedy, just like it does to Bloom. And just like Bloom, Tom Kernan isn’t Catholic (he’s Protestant), so he has some interesting comments on the Catholic Church. However, Dedalus isn’t restrained enough to contain his feelings, and Kernan isn’t tactful enough to keep his mouth shut. Meanwhile, the ever-practical Bloom starts thinking about the objective physiological aspects of death. This is, again, the polar opposite of Stephen Dedalus’s sentimental and existential view of death in the opening episodes of the novel. In other words, while Stephen views death from a human perspective, Bloom views it from a scientific perspective that gives the reader little information about how he views his own mortality.
Themes
Meanwhile, Leopold Bloom imagines John O’Connell’s romantic life, wondering if any woman would want to live with him in the graveyard. He thinks about the soil, packed full of decomposing corpses and probably maggots, too. Bloom wonders when it's appropriate to joke about the dead and, while the gravediggers prepare to lower the coffin, he tries to figure out who an unfamiliar man wearing a macintosh raincoat in the corner might be. He asks whether it’s necessary to waste so much wood on coffins, and he sees that there are thirteen mourners, which is a conveniently superstitious number. He admires Ned Lambert’s suit and wonders how life would be, “if we were all suddenly somebody else.”
Bloom’s quirky questions and final comment, “if we were all suddenly somebody else,” reveal his genuine curiosity about other people’s perspectives and experiences. Of course, Joyce’s strategy as an author is precisely to dig into other people’s lives, feelings, and thoughts in order to present a composite view of the world from multiple perspectives. But this is only possible in literature—never in reality. Bloom also realizes that his curiosity violates social norms. Clearly, Joyce is interested in showing how such norms are artificial, and people are constantly violating and ignoring them in their minds. The man in the macintosh is one of the enduring mysteries in Ulysses—Joyce chooses never to identify him, and he could represent anyone or anything. (One popular theory is that he's James Joyce himself, and another popular theory is that he's a red herring, inserted in the novel to send readers on wild goose chases.)
Themes
When it’s their turn to die, Bloom thinks, nobody ever believes it—dying must feel strange and unnatural. During the final prayer for Dignam, Bloom figures that it’s odd to pray for loved ones not to burn in hellfire. The gravediggers start filling in the grave and Bloom briefly wonders whether Dignam might still be alive, and whether anyone would even know it. The mourners put their hats on and start to disperse. Hynes, who works for the newspaper, is taking the mourners’ names. Bloom adds M’Coy’s, and Hynes comments that M’Coy was fired from the newspaper for stealing money. Hynes asks about the mysterious stranger in the macintosh, but mistakenly records his name as “M’Intosh” and disappears before Bloom can correct him.
Joyce seemingly wants to make Bloom’s train of thought as hilarious as possible during this funeral scene. His outsider perspective again lets him expose the strangeness of norms that everyone else takes for granted (like praying that loved ones don’t burn in hell). And Hynes’s matter-of-fact, error-prone reporting for the newspaper adds to this mixture of the tragic and comic. Meanwhile, Bloom finally confronts death from a first-person, subjective perspective when he asks how people should confront their own deaths (which seem to be random and unpredictable).
Themes
The gravediggers fill Dignam’s grave and the ceremony ends. The mourners walk over to Parnell’s grave, and Bloom muses that it’s a waste to spend money on fancy graves instead of donating to “some charity for the living.” He watches a bird sitting on a branch, which reminds him of Milly burying a dead bird as a girl. He realizes just how many departed Dubliners are buried in the cemetery and quips that it’d be possible to remember the dead by getting photos and gramophone voice recordings of them. He watches a rat scurry into a man’s crypt and imagines the rat gnawing the man’s flesh off his bones. He concludes that it would be easier to cremate bodies and imagines that the animals are eager to start on Dignam’s.
Bloom’s concern for charity reminds the reader that his utterly practical, efficiency-focused, and occasionally unsentimental mindset is really driven by his sense of how much important work is left to be done in the world. Bloom’s calculating mindset isn’t a replacement for sentimentality: it’s a strategy for getting the most out of what truly matters to him and those around him. His remarks about the sheer quantity of the dead show that he understands the weight of history and fate, much like Stephen. And there’s another important parallel with Stephen here: the rat reminds Bloom of the circle of life, which Stephen also contemplated while peeing into the Sandymount Strand rocks at the end of “Proteus.”
Themes
Bloom sees the cemetery gates and realizes he’s ready to get “back to the world,” but he still thinks about getting haunted by ghosts. Martin Cunningham approaches Bloom alongside John Henry Menton, who Bloom remembers used to dislike him. Bloom points out that Menton’s hat is dinged, but Menton ignores it until Cunningham repeats the comment to him. He begrudgingly thanks Cunningham and they walk off ahead of Bloom, who takes the insult in stride.
Bloom’s return “to the world” is a kind of symbolic resurrection after his encounter with death in the cemetery. Menton’s rude behavior is another clear sign of Bloom’s unpopularity in Dublin—just like Stephen, he can’t avoid being an outsider everywhere he goes, even if he tries to be helpful and sympathetic.
Themes
