Reading Joyce

384 Pages·2008·83.853 MB·English

by  David Pierce

J_JOYce 10/24/07 8:21 AM Page 1
R J ‘Is there one who
eading oyce
understands me?’
So wrote James Joyce towards the end ofhis final
“Of the making of books about James Joyce there is no end,but Reading Joyceby David “Reading Joyce by David Pierce is
work,Finnegans Wake.The question continues to be
Pierce is something special. It is the distillation of a lifetime’s immersion as a teacher and
something special... I can think of no better asked about the author who claimed that he had
critic in the work of a great but dauntingly difficult modern writer. I can think of no R
companion for anyone embarking on a put so many enigmas into Ulyssesthat it would
better companion for anyone embarking on a serious exploration of Joyce’s work,but
‘keep the professors busy for centuries’arguing over
seasoned Joyceans will also find much to delight and inform them here. It is a literary as e serious exploration of Joyce’s work... what he meant.For Joyce this was a way ofensuring
well as a critical achievement,a unique blend of commentary and confession,biography It is a literary as well as a critical his immortality,but it could also be claimed that
a
David Pierce has taught,read,and written about and autobiography,illustrated throughout by a profusion of fascinating photographs, achievement.” the professors have served to distance Joyce from his
modern literature and Irish writing for more than drawings,maps and other images which evoke the world of James Joyce and the ways in d David Lodge audience,turning his writings into museum pieces,
which his books have been received.” pored over and admired,but rarely touched.
thirty years.He is on the Board ofthe International
David Lodge
James Joyce Foundation and the author ofJames i
In this remarkable book,steeped in the learning
Joyce's Ireland;Yeats's Worlds: Ireland,England and the n
“Many critics of James Joyce are smart:David Pierce is also wise.Reading Joycebrilliantly gained from a lifetime's reading,David Pierce
Poetic Imagination;Irish Writing in the Twentieth
and judiciously uses his experiences as a fine teacher,a major scholar – and an open, blends word,life and image to bring the works of
Century: A Reader;Light,Freedom and Song: A
receptive reader.And few critics are so skillfully alert to the actual,material,visible world g one ofthe great modern writers within the reach of
Cultural History ofModern Irish Writing;and Joyce
in which Joyce’s works take place.” every reader.With a sharp eye for detail and an
and Company.David lives in York. evident delight in the cadences ofJoyce’s work,
Morris Beja,author ofJames Joyce:A Literary Life,and former President,
J Pierce proves a perfect companion,always careful
the International James Joyce Foundation
o and courteous,pausing to point out what might
otherwise be missed.Like the best ofcritics,his
“This is a brave,richly informed,and candid book,an engaging mix of biography,
suggestive readings constantly encourage the reader
autobiography,and critical analysis.A godsend to teachers and students alike,it y
back to Joyce’s own words.Beginning with
brilliantly demystifies Joyce,without compromising his complexity.It is a uniquely
c Dubliners and closing with Finnegans Wake,
personal odyssey of discovery which all Joyceans will recognise as their own,too.” READING JOYCEis full ofinsights that are original
Professor Terry Dolan,University College Dublin e and illuminating,and Pierce succeeds in presenting
Joyce as an author both more straightforward and
“Reading Joyceis an ideal introduction to the works of the Master.Unlike many writers on infinitely more complex than we had perhaps
R
imagined.
Joyce,Pierce chooses to addresses the reader on terms of equality rather than to revel self-
D eading
regardingly in difficulties or to confuse them with a theoretical overlay which Joyce him-
A
T.S.Eliot wrote ofJoyce’s masterpiece,Ulysses,that
self would have laughed at.This book presents Joyce mediated by an urbane and witty V
it is ‘a book to which we are all indebted,and from
expert,who expects the same qualities in his readers.Pierce does not flagellate himself – I
which none ofus can escape’.With David Pierce as
D
as too many Joyceans do – over trifles or theories and does not expect his readers to do so
a guide,the debt we owe to Joyce becomes clearer,
either.” J
P and the need to flee is greatly reduced.
Mr.Justice Adrian Hardiman M.R.I.A,Supreme Court ofIreland I oyce
E
R
C
E

R
o
u
tle DAVID PIERCE
d
www.routledge.com g
e
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page i
Reading Joyce
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page ii
James Joyce; photograph by Berenice Abbott, Paris, 1928
Source:Berenice Abbott/Commerce Graphics NYC
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page iii
Reading Joyce
David Pierce
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page iv
First published 2008 by Pearson Education Limited
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2008, Taylor & Francis.
The right of David Pierce to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical
treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In
using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of
others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors,
assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products
liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products,
instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.
ISBN 13: 978-1-4058-4061-3 (pbk)
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Pierce, David, 1947–
Reading Joyce/David Pierce.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4058-4061-3
1. Joyce, James, 1882–1941––Criticism and interpretation. 2. Joyce, James, 1882–1941––Appreciation.
3. Joyce, James, 1882–1941––Study and teaching. I. Title.
PR6019. 09Z7819 2007
823'. 912––dc22
Set by 73 in 10/13.5 pt Sabon 2007038448
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page v
For Mary and Matt, home again
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page vi
Also by David Pierce
AttitudestoClassintheEnglishNovel(withMaryEagleton),London:1979;
W. B. Yeats:A Guide Through the Critical Maze, Bristol: 1989;James
Joyce’s Ireland, London and New Haven: 1992;Yeats’s Worlds:Ireland,
England and the Poetic Imagination, London and New Haven: 1995;
Sterne in Modernism/Postmodernism(co-editor with Peter de Voogd),
Amsterdam: 1996;W. B. Yeats:Critical Assessments, 4 vols,
Robertsbridge: 2000;Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century:A Reader,
Cork: 2001; Light, Freedom and Song:A Cultural History of Modern
Irish Writing, London and New Haven: 2005; Joyce and Company,
London: 2006.
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page vii
Contents
List of illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xv
Abbreviations xvii
1 Introduction 1
Opening remarks· Difficulty and delay· Snapshots of Joyce ·
Home, sweet home
2 1904: Joyce’s point of departure 35
Colonial contexts ·At 22 · Stephen Daedalus ·
Myths and reality ·Defiance and displacement
3 The unfinished sentences of ‘The Sisters’ 69
Unfinished sentences ·Ritual and folklore ·Humour
4 Saying goodbye in ‘Eveline’ 89
Emigration ·The language of ‘Eveline’
5 Blinds and railings in ‘Araby’ and ‘Two Gallants’ 108
‘Araby’ ·‘Two Gallants’
6 Teaching Dubliners 128
Handouts ·Student responses ·Writing and politics ·Series ·
All the living and the dead
7 On A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 156
Title, epigraph, orientation ·Once upon a time ·The interior
space ·In the beginning was the word ·The subject in
language ·Joyce among the Jesuits
8 Approaching Ulysses 187
On reading Ulyssesfor the first time ·Structure ·Getting help ·
Thalatta! Thalatta!– an epiphany ·Homer ·Boul’ Mich’,
Paris ·Wild Geese ·Anti-clericalism
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page viii
viii CONTENTS
9 Leopold Bloom at home and at work 222
7 Eccles Street ·Gesabo ·A regulated world ·
The Freeman’s Journal
10 Student responses to Molly Bloom 267
A female gorilla or a slapper? ·The German Emperor ·
A literary bombshell ·Breathless ·The novel to end all novels
11 Figuring out Finnegans Wake 301
An unknown cargo ·Preliminary notes ·The Earwickers of
Sidlesham ·The paradigmatic ear ·Closing moments
Afterword 333
Select bibliography 340
Index 351
REJO_A01.QXD 29/10/07 4:18 pm Page ix
List of illustrations
James Joyce, photograph by Berenice Abbott ii
Guy Davenport’s caricature of Joyce dangling a pair of
bloomers xviii
Listing in Radio Timesof Is There One Who Understands Me? 2
The Phoenix Park; Edwardian postcard 10
Brancusi’s Symbol of Joyce 14
Portrait of James Joyce by Constantin Brancusi 14
Photograph of Joyce by Carola Giedion-Welcker 15
Photograph of Joyce by Gisèle Freund 16
Poster for the International James Joyce Symposium, Venice 17
SylviaBeachandJoyceoutsideShakespeareandCompany,Paris 17
Final issue of The Little Review 18
Photograph of Joyce by Berenice Abbott 19
41 Brighton Square, Rathgar, Dublin, where Joyce was born 20
1 Martello Terrace, Bray, where the Christmas dinner scene in
A Portraitis staged 20
Hôtel du Commerce at St Gérand-du-Puy, where the Joyces stayed
in 1940 21
Joyce family in transit, Zurich 23
Photograph of Joyce and Adrienne Monnier by Gisèle Freund 26
La Coupole in Montparnasse, Paris, in the 1930s and 2006 28
Dan Harper’s photo of the actor Eamonn Morrisey, dressed as
Bloom in the Martello Tower at Sandycove 30
Entry for Maginni in Thom’s Business Directory of Dublin and
Suburbs for the year 1906 30
The Ormond Hotel on the quays in Dublin, the setting for ‘Sirens’
in Ulysses 31
Switzer and Co. 32
Postcard of Dublin, Georgia 34
Sackville Street in the late-1890s 37
Statue of Sir John Gray, Sackville Street 37
Setting for ‘The Sisters’ in The Irish Homestead 45
First paragraph of the first version of ‘The Sisters’ 47