In Calypso Joyce highlighted Bloom’s materialism, in how he loved food, women, and money. In Lotus Eaters, particularly the scene where Bloom notices a rich couple going into a hotel, Bloom’s hedonism is shown to a new extent. In his (or the narrator’s?) description the woman is doing very little but is the center of action. “She stood still, waiting, while the man, husband, brother, like her, searched his pockets for change” (73). Even though the husband, brother, is trying to pay the porter, the sentence opens with the woman standing. And even her motionlessness is elaborate on, because she is also “waiting.” This line is also the only time the husband, brother, is mentioned, again showing Bloom’s sexual curiosity. His materialism is shown in how he notices the flicker of her hat while she drives away. Like an animal Bloom’s eye will just follow a shiny object. But also in this scene Joyce displays Bloom’s arrogance, cynicism, an foremost his rudeness. The whole time he half-heartedly listens to M’Coy, and even moves “to the side of M’Coy’s talking head,” treating him like an interruption (74). Actually later on he still dwells with having to meet with M’Coy, when he says, “I wish I didn’t have to meet that M’Coy fellow” (76). But beyond this rudeness Bloom comes off as arrogant, especially as a sexual being. This is shown when he thinks, “[she] sees me looking. Eye out for another fellow always. Good fallback” (74). While thinking that the woman notices him, Bloom is also thinks she is checking him out. And also in Church he wonders, “were those two buttons of my waistcoat open all the time. Women enjoy it. Annoyed if you don’t” (83). So not only does Bloom think of himself as handsome, but he implies women crave sex. And this deals with Bloom’s cynicism, another one of his facets displayed in this chapter. When Bloom thinks that the rich looking at other men is a “good fallback,” it shows how he is accusing her of being a gold-digger. But in calling it a good fallback he is supporting this treachery. And of course adulterous thoughts are not a stranger to Bloom.
Another moment in the scene with the rich woman shows Blooms hypocricy. This is when Bloom wonders where this girl is going. His assumption is that she’s “off to the country: Broadstone probably” (74). Since Bloom is so fascinated with this girl it seems likely Bloom envies her life. This has to do with Homer’s Lotus Eaters that the chapter is named after. In The Odyssey the lotus eaters are those who left Odysseus’s crew to live on the isle of the lotus. At many spots we see Bloom thinking about the people of the east having a relaxing life. He thinks, “the far east. Lovely spot it must be, the garden of the world, big lazy leaves to float about on, cactuses, flowery meads….Wonder it is like” (71). While he calls these people lethargic later on he is still curious about what the life is like. The hypocrisy lies in how Bloom is critical of those who don’t do work, but wants their lifestyle.
Connections:
Pg. 75 M’Coy goes off to investigate the drowning at sandy cove.
Pg. 79 Bloom contemplates about how checks can be ripped apart, and also be worth a lot. This contrasts Stephen noticing the weight of the coins he carries.
Pg. 86 Bloom thinks about his navel while fantasizing about a bath. We’ve seen both umbilical chords and navels elsewhere.
Pg. 85 The chemist talks about horse racing
Questions:
We discussed a lot about Bloom’s suspicion concerning his wife. But now we see how Mr. Flower has an affair going of his own. Would you call this infidelity on Bloom’s part? Or does it not count unless he pursues the body pleasure associated?
Do you ever feel like Bloom sees himself as a performer? One moment in this chapter he walks by a group of cab drivers and consciously notes, “shout a few flying syllables as they pass” (77).
1 comment:
This is an exemplary blog, and this will probably be a long counter-post. Since you asked a bunch of questions, I feel obligated to answer them...
Yes, Bloom is sensual, but everywhere we see signs of his dissatisfaction with the merely sensual. The sacrament of marriage has been violated, and Bloom... just can't face it. He has faith, belief. And in the "Hades" chapter we see more such signs. Bloom wonders, just as he did about metempsychosis, if there isn't a way that life goes on. His own interest in his own penis is quasi-spiritual or pagan: a sort of phallism that D.H. Lawrence (often cited as a counterpoint to Joyce) would have appreciated. The father of thousands... it represents the life force. So, Bloom is not a mere hedonist, or, not deep down.
You bring up too many interesting points to engage here, but... I'm trusting you to find an appropriate theme to start pursuing as you read, while bearing in mind the bigger themes. Death, dead society, paternity, heroism, union between opposites such as the sexes...
Bloom flirts with infidelity but sees that it would just result in trouble. He has the Odyssean quality of forbearance. Odysseus' crew opened up the bag of wind, stayed with the Lotus Eaters... Bloom is protean as Henry Flower, but, as always, he is on the line. I almost never view him as performer, because he seems detached and often ignored by others. We see this in the coming chapters in which his Jewishness is such a salient issue.
A number of people commented that Bloom thinks Molly is stupid. I don't get this impression. He sees her as a woman and therefore possessed of womanly intelligence, an earthy wisdom that fascinates him. He does love his wife, as she does him.
Shells are a symbol of money, also symbolic of Venus, also a sort of trash or refuse. Stephen's protean thoughts dwell on trash or "offal" a lot, as do Bloom's. Deasey and Mulligan serve a common purpose in that they both conspire to keep Stephen from his purpose. They are both in cahoots with the slavemasters - the English. Mulligan is willing to play the game. Deasey, a repository of misinformation, represents something else, too: the corruption of truth. This is also symbolized by Bloom's frequent factual errors, the silly newspaper articles, and Stephen's own mistrust of language. Most characters other than Bloom are not really helpful to Stephen, but represent temptations. Bloom, too, is beset by temptations, just as Odysseus was. These pertain to the modern world as much as they did to the world of The Odyssey... The advice on life remains the same, although the lotus flower has been replaced by other forms of addiction.
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