death
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Ep. 109 – The Tower of Silence
Break out the Tantalus glasses – we’re finally getting out of the Underworld! Topics in our final episode covering “Hades” include paying the ferryman, turning a suit, rats, Robert Emmet, the speech from the dock, toxic nostalgia, cremation, the Catholic Church’s position on cremation, quicklime, Zoroastrianism, the Parsi Tower of Silence, the unexpected consequences of…
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Ep. 108 – The Chief’s Grave (w/ Jordan LeVeque)
Sometimes, Bloom is right to be wrong. Topics in this episode include Charles Stewart Parnell’s funeral and grave, Parnell as Agamemnon, Parnell as a Christ figure, graveyard iconography, Old Ireland’s Hearts and Hands, All Souls’ Day, euphemisms for death, Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” a stuffed owl, Milly’s funeral for a bird,…
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Ep. 107 – Far away a donkey brayed.
What’s up with that donkey in Glasnevin? Topics in this episode include seagulls in Ulysses, the Blooms’ old digs in Lombard St. West, The Joyce Project, Mesias the tailor, donkey lore, superstitions of death, a strange work of art, Lucia di Lammermoor, Ivy Day, the location of Bloom’s future grave, Altman the Saltman, Finglas, Joe…
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Ep. 105 – The Ides of June
Beware the Ides of June. Topics in this episode include the power of keys, John O’Connell the St. Peter of Dublin, “Silver Threads Among the Gold”, Daniel O’Connell the Hercules of Dublin, Daniel O’Connell’s cheatin’ heart, the Persephone of Dublin, Christian burial practices, blood libel, vampire imagery and antisemitism, Leopold Bloom’s version for everlasting life…
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Ep. 103 – Dominenamine
Is there really a church in Dublin full of deadly corpsegas? Topics discussed in this episode include Cardinal McCabe and his mausoleum, the fate of orphans and widows in 1904, “Three Women to Every Men,” Leopold Bloom’s irreverence in the face of mortality, Victoria and Albert, getting up a whip, John Henry Menton, Elpinor, Cerberus,…
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Ep. 99 – The Best Death
Rattle his bones over the stones! He ’s only a pauper whom nobody owns! Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of infant death and suicide. Topics in this episode include an O’Connell St. history quiz, how Dermot was radicalized as a ten-year-old, the demise of Nelson’s pillar, the floozie in the jacuzzi, Paddy’s adelite face…
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Ep. 94 – A Fine Old Custom
I’ll tickle his catastrophe, believe you me! Topics include Ulysses tarot cards, incubism, the system of correspondences found in Ulysses, Martin Cunningham, Mr Power, Simon Dedalus, armstraps, caring for corpses, women’s role in caring for the dead, hats as identities, economic incubism, Bloom’s outsider status, Irish funeral customs, embalming, why Dignam’s widow doesn’t attend his…
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Ep. 93 – As Decent a Little Man as Ever Wore a Hat
Shakespeare is in the eye of the beholder. Topics in this episode include the real-world inspiration for Paddy’s Dignam’s funeral, Matthew Kane, the funeral cortège to Glasnevin, attendees to Matthew Kane’s funeral, Martin Cunningham, Sisyphus, the short story “Grace,” the true story behind “Grace,” the Jesuits, Matthew Kane attending his own funeral, Matthew Kane’s appearance…
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Who is the Man in the Macintosh?
“Now who is that lankylooking galoot over there in the macintosh? Now who is he I’d like to know? Now I’d give a trifle to know who he is.” – Leopold Bloom, p. 109 To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. Who doesn’t love a good mystery ?…
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The Women of Ulysses: Milly Bloom
Part of an occasional series on the women of Ulysses. To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. Poor Milly Bloom. She’s the daughter of one of literature’s greatest heroes, but she’s been given short shrift. Joyce critics over the decades have largely ignored her or written her off…