Stephen Dedalus

  • Ep. 31 – Contransmagnificandjewbangtantiality

    Let’s have fun with consubstantiality! Kelly and Dermot untangle Stephen Dedalus’ thoughts on the dual nature of God the Father and God the Son, the Nicene Creed, the difference between being made and being begotten, the death of Arius, seahorses, a shocking fact about the Star Wars cantina and an even more shocking fact about…

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  • The Word Known to All Men

    To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. “Touch me. Soft eyes. Soft soft soft hand. I am lonely here. O, touch me soon, now. What is that word known to all men? I am quiet here alone. Sad too. Touch, touch me.” The lines above appear towards the…

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  • Ep. 27 – Nacheinander and Nebeneinander

    Real talk: why are there no seagulls on Sandymount Strand in Ulysses? Have we stumbled onto a historical seagull-based conspiracy? Stay tuned to find out! Additionally, we’ll also continue discussing how Stephen’s walk on the beach is influenced by Berkeleyan idealism, Stephen’s perception of space and time, how blind people perceive the world and the…

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  • Decoding Dedalus: Signs on a White Field

    “Actuality and the material world demand a winnowing down of facts to one linear story which serves one party, is the shout of the victor. In Ulysses, the human form is allowed to be infinite; no fact is considered unhistorical, no victory will be dismissed as pyrrhic. Everything is included because Ulysses is the epic…

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  • Ep. 25 – Proteus

    The time has come for Blooms & Barnacles to tackle Ulysses‘ third episode – “Proteus”! This is Ulysses‘ first “difficult” episode – jam-packed with multiple languages and obscure references. This week’s podcast gives an overview of many of the themes found in “Proteus,” including its connection to The Odyssey, the influence of esoteric doctrines on…

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  • Dogsbody

    This certainly wasn’t done by a dog-lover,” said Joyce. “I don’t like them. I am afraid of them. – Frank Budgen, James Joyce and the Making of Ulysses To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. James Joyce was a cat person. His brother Stanislaus recalled a family trip…

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  • Form of Forms

    “It follows that the soul is analogous to the hand; for as the hand is a tool of tools, so the mind is the form of forms and sense the form of sensible things.” – Aristotle, De Anima I am absolutely indebted to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the book Allwisest Stagyrite: Joyce’s Quotations…

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  • The Women of Ulysses: Maud Gonne

    Maud Gonne, beautiful woman, La Patrie, M. Millevoye, Felix Faure, know how he died? Maud Gonne’s name appears in Ulysses’ third episode, “Proteus”, as Stephen rummages through his recollections of his brief sojourn in Paris. Though Gonne did reside in Paris in the early 1900’s, she never met James Joyce (or Stephen Dedalus), but their non-meeting…

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  • Ep. 17 – Averroes and Moses Maimonides

    Kelly and Dermot tackle the reference to Averroes and Maimonides in “Nestor.” Not only does this episode cover these two philosophers and their connection to Aristotle, there’s also plenty of discussion on Morris dance, Giordano Bruno and the thematic importance of goth kids.

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  • Decoding Dedalus: Latin Quarter Hat

    He dressed in black, a Hamlet without a wicked uncle…. – Richard Ellmann This is a post in a series called Decoding Dedalus where I take a passage of Ulysses and  break it down line by line.The passage below comes from “Proteus,” the third episode of Ulysses. It appears on pages 41-42 in my copy…

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