Rabbi Bloom

By symbolically linking Ulyssess with The Odyssey Joyce makes the idea of the journey, or returning home very important. While the book is full of allusions to Odysseus’s journey home, there are also a lot of references to the heroes of the bible. Already there have been moments when Bloom has thought about Israel and biblical topics. In the beginning of the chapter Bloom thinks of the size of the Dedalus family, with a “birth every year almost. That’s in their theology or the priest won’t give the poor woman the confession, the absolution. Increase and multiply” (151). Here we see Bloom attributing the size of the Dedalus family to its religiosity. It’s funny that Bloom says this practice is part of their theology when it is apart of his too, since this commandment comes from Genesis. Later Bloom challenges the Dedalus family when he thinks, “I’d like to see them do the black fast Yom Kippur. Crossbuns” (152). Again this is strange, because the ritual of the fast is another old-testament tradition. We see Bloom confuse details all the time, but here it seems that the religions are confused themselves. Obviously Joyce is placing these two forms of monotheism against each other to question why such terrible, seemingly competitive, feuds occur between these groups of people. I included the sentence “Crossbuns” in the quote to show another conflict found in religion, the personal one. Even though Bloom wonders if the Dedalus family can last a fast, the reader knows that Bloom couldn’t. So his mentioning of crossbuns could be his appetite chiming in.
This sense of personal control in regards to religion is found all over this chapter. When Bloom thinks of an ad with an attractive woman writing something, he’s sure that all will be intrigued, “women too. Curiosity. Pillar of salt” (154). This thought has to do with Lot’s wife from the story of Sodom, and how she was turned to a pillar of salt by looking back at the city. Here I see the idea of sexual temptation come into play. Because if a woman were drawn to an ad with a female model, would that not make her homosexual or a sodomite?
One final role that religion plays in this chapter deals with the woman. In the second chapter of the book Deseay blames the woman for sin. Ever since that moment there have been recurring images of Eve. One of the punishments Eve received from eating from the tree of knowledge was pain at childbirth. In this chapter Bloom thinks of a young woman in labor and suggests, “they ought to invent something to stop that. Life with hard labour” (161). While short, I find this thought to be very profound. In the western tradition a painless childbirth in a way means a return to paradise. At the same time I think this notion displays a conflict of modernism and religion. Because it implies medicine can outweigh God’s punishments. But again Bloom would like a “life without hard labour.” In Lotus-Eaters Bloom fantasized about the east being a luxurious place (71), or even an Eden. But Bloom also thinks of Zionist settlers in Palestine, making an Eden by doing hard labor. Although he doesn’t follow either of these lifestyles, thereby leaving him in a house of bondage.

Connections
Swans are accused of spreading foot and mouth disease pg. 153.

Bloom thinks of a woman getting her boots all mucky on 168. He also notices the muck on Stephen’s boots of 147.

On 173 Blazes is called a “hairy chap” and on 92 he was “airing his quiff.”

On 174 dog noses are discussed in a very sexual way, like on 59.

Questions:

Bloom grapples with acting on his thoughts. For example he thinks about surprising both Molly and Milly, and seems to want to contact Martha? Are there any course of actions that you envision Bloom making? Or do you think his inaction is a sort of tragic flaw?

In every chapter since by the soap Bloom mentions it. What significance do you think it holds?