Murders, Suicides, and Dead Babies

“Well it is a long rest. Feel no more. It’s the moment you feel. Must be damned unpleasant” (110).

Almost everything in this chapter deals with death, be it actions or thoughts. In the passage above Bloom thinks of death as both a loss and intense moment of pain. Being a man of the body, Bloom inevitably thinks of his death in relation to it. He realizes when he is dead he will not be able to eat the inner organs of beasts. This view is also found when he thinks it is “much better to close up all the orifices. Yes, also. With wax. The sphincter loose. Seal all up” (98). Since we’ve seen Bloom have and enjoy a bowel movement, the sealing of the sphincter means the end of this enjoyment of digestion. But in thinking of how to store and preserve dead bodies Bloom seems unafraid of death. But maybe Bloom is not afraid of death but dying, for this is what the body experiences. In two places Bloom mentions the unpleasantness of death. He does in the quote above, when he is at the cemetery during the burial. And also in the carriage before hand, he calls a sudden death “the best death…no suffering he said. And a moment and all is over. Like dying in sleep” (95). Again this shows how Bloom fears the pain or agony of death. And this can be related to how both his father and child died. His father poisoned himself, which meant “no more pain” (97). But the dying process was still painful, since it was his depressing life. Support for this is when Bloom thinks, “they used to drive a stake of wood through his heart in the grave. As if it wasn’t broken already,” showing the emotional pain of the suicidal (96). But Bloom continues, “sometimes they repent too late. Found in the riverbed clutching rushes” (96). This again emphasizes how the moment of death would be the worst, because you may change your mind but realize that your hopes are futile. So Bloom thinks how dying is terrible for the suicidal, and this also relates to Rudy. From the moment of his birth Rudy was in the process of dying. But in calling his son “a mistake of nature” (96) Bloom seems able to cope with the idea of a dead child. Almost like he’ll never miss life, for he hasn’t experienced it. But at the same time Bloom thinks about missing the opportunity when he thinks, “I could of helped him on in life. I could” (89).

Connections:

When the cows passed in front of the carriage it made me think of Deseay, fighting foot and mouth disease.

On page 99 Bloom mentions carrion dogs in the river, and we know that there are.

Page 106 Bloom sings the “tooraloom” he does on page 71.

Page 112 Bloom thinks of the cords of the coffins as navelcords.

Questions:

Does Bloom’s confusion between his wife and daughter bother anyone else? Around page 100 he thinks about surprising Milly with a visit, and says that she’ll be “with her pants down.”

How did you feel about seeing Dedalus again? He seemed like more of a jerk. And what do you think of the moment when he “hurled a mute curse at the sky” (90).