Ulysses
James Joyce
Ulysses
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One day in Dublin — 16 June 1904 — followed hour by hour through Leopold Bloom, who goes about his business knowing what his wife will be doing at four o'clock, and Stephen Dedalus, who has come home for his mother's funeral and stayed. Each episode answers to a passage of the Odyssey and is written in a different manner, and the last has no full stops.
About the book
Published in 1922, Ulysses unfolds over a single day, 16 June 1904, primarily through the experiences of Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus and Molly Bloom. Its Dublin is mapped through streets, pubs, workplaces, homes and conversations, while the characters’ thoughts continually pull the present towards memories, fantasies and private concerns. James Joyce loosely parallels episodes of Homer’s Odyssey but places heroic structures inside ordinary modern life. Each section experiments with language, perspective or literary form, ranging from close interior monologue to parody and dramatic dialogue. The result demands attention less to conventional plot than to how consciousness, language and the city intersect.
Characters
Leopold Bloom — Protagonist
A Dublin advertising canvasser whose movements through the city reveal an observant and associative mind.
Stephen Dedalus — Young teacher
A young writer and teacher preoccupied with art, family, religion and his uncertain place in Dublin.
Molly Bloom — Bloom’s wife
A professional singer and Leopold’s wife, whose presence and thoughts are central to his emotional life.
Buck Mulligan — Stephen’s friend
A witty medical student sharing the Martello tower with Stephen and frequently mocking his seriousness.
Haines — English visitor
An English student staying at the tower, interested in Irish culture and uneasy in Stephen’s company.
Millicent Bloom — Bloom’s daughter
Leopold and Molly’s teenage daughter, usually called Milly, who is living and working away from home.
Simon Dedalus — Stephen’s father
Stephen’s sociable and financially troubled father, known for stories, singing and memories of better times.
About the author
James Joyce (1882–1941) was an influential Irish novelist, short-story writer and poet, widely regarded as one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. Born in Dublin, he drew heavily on the city’s people, streets and social life, even after spending much of his adulthood abroad. Joyce became known for his innovative language, experimental narrative techniques and profound exploration of memory, identity and everyday experience. His best-known works include Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.