James Joyce's Ulysses, "Telemachus" Episode, No. 28

(cf. 1922, 5.31 - 6.6; Gabler, 1.100-11)

Stephen has just been accused by Mulligan of performing more than feeling his grief, of being the "loveliest mummer of them all" who prominently wears his mourning for his mother, but who refused to honor her final wish before she died.  Stephen doesn't rise to the bait, but continues acting the part.

This is one of the first pages where we see Stephen's internal monologue placed in the context of external events.  He remembers a dream he had shortly after his mother's death, in which she appears as a ghost (remember Hamlet? we finally have our ghost!). We will see this dream in different variations throughout the novel. For now, a few things jumped out at me... first, note the emphasis placed on smells. Joyce is one of the great smell writers... "wetted ashes" has always struck me as an amazingly precise and familiar smell.  Also the green of the bile and the green of the bay... just moments ago, Mulligan suggested that 'snotgreen' be a new color for Irish art.  We get a sense of what Stephen thinks of that idea here.

Finally, note how Rob has drawn Stephen's pose here.  Joyce writes that Stephen has his palm on his brow,  but Rob has focused on how Stephen is looking at the bay "beyond the threadbare cuffedge," a marvelous bit of framing.

hopes for further discussion from you, gentle reader:

--the color green

--parallax and visual framing

--ghosts

--motherhood