literature
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Who was the Real Mr. Deasy?
To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. This post is a part of an occasional series on the real people behind the characters in Ulysses. For all posts on Mr. Deasy, click here. “You will see at the next outbreak they will put an embargo on Irish cattle.…
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The Pre-Decimal Money System
As I start digging deeper into “Nestor” and beyond in Ulysses, I thought it might be handy to have a quick reference for the pre-decimal British currency amounts found in the novel. I have concluded this is world’s most confusing system of currency (prove me wrong, Internet!), but this chart should take some of the…
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The Women of Ulysses: Mr. Deasy’s Perfidious Women
Part of an occasional series on the women of Ulysses. For all posts on Mr. Deasy, click here. To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. In “Nestor,” the second episode of Ulysses, Stephen Dedalus finds himself in a discussion with his employer, Mr. Deasy. They have reached a…
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James Joyce’s Poetic Rage
To put it nicely, James Joyce was a prickly pear. It’s well known that he left Dublin for continental Europe in 1904, never to return. His exile was self-imposed, but that didn’t stop him from metaphorically backing out of the room with two middle fingers raised. This reaction was simultaneously over-the-top and kind of justified.…