Ep. 98 - Reuben J. Dodd
How long can you hold a grudge?
Elvery’s Elephant House
Topics in this episode include Mr. Power’s kept woman, hot 1904 gossip, rumpsteak, Reuben J. Dodd the Younger’s plunge into the Liffey, Bloom’s storytelling ability, pre-decimal currency, petty score settling, Elvery’s elephant, our favorite vegetarian restaurant in Dublin, Barabbas, chisellers, gombeens, usury, antisemitic stereotypes, whether Bloom is a self-loathing Jew, Benjamin Disraeli, the relationship of the real Reuben J. Dodd and John Joyce, the relationship of the real Reuben J. Dodd Jr. and James Joyce, Dodd’s story as told in the Irish Worker, Reuben J. Dodd’s lawsuit against the BBC, the ripple effects of Dodd’s litigiousness, the use of “Jew” as a slur, the pitfalls of assuming religion based on surnames, Harford from “Grace”, Dermot’s editorial suggestions for James Joyce, the identity of Dodd’s rescuer, Bloom’s fiscal responsibility, incubism, the drowning motif, defacing money, and the symbolism of the florin.
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Further Reading:
Adams, R. M. (1962). Surface and Symbol: The Consistency of James Joyce’s Ulysses. New York: Oxford University Press.
Boyle, R. (1965). A Note on Reuben J. Dodd as "A Dirty Jew". James Joyce Quarterly, 3(1), 64-66. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486544
Casey, N. ( 2016 Jun. 16). 'My father's Jewish cousin Reuben Dodd appeared in Ulysses' - Norah Casey on her connection to Joyce. The Irish Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/my-fathers-jewish-cousin-reuben-dodd-appeared-in-ulysses-norah-casey-on-her-connection-to-joyce-34807361.html
Cheyette, B. (1992). "Jewgreek is greekjew": The Disturbing Ambivalence of Joyce's Semitic Discourse in "Ulysses". Joyce Studies Annual, 3, 32-56. Retrieved May 4, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/26283605
Davison, N. R. (1998). James Joyce, Ulysses, and the Construction of Jewish Identity: Culture, Biography and ‘the Jew’ in Modernist Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/rp9ctrt
Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. Oxford University Press.
McCarthy, P. (1984). The Case of Reuben J. Dodd. James Joyce Quarterly, 21(2), 169-175. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476578
O’Connor, U. (2012 Feb 12). Ulick O'Connor: Real-life 'Ulysses' character who caused a literary stir. The Irish Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/ulick-oconnor-real-life-ulysses-character-who-caused-a-literary-stir-26820766.html
Osteen, M. (1995). The economy of Ulysses: making both ends meet. New York: Syracuse University Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/yycf2ar5
Image Sources:
Elvery’s Elephant House: https://www.joyceproject.com/notes/060009elveryselephant.htm