Ulysses: Episode 16: Eumaeus: Wayne's World: 06/13/09
I have two more episodes to read before I am officially done with Ulysses. That means two more episode comparisons and then a summary review. I have to admit that after "Circe" I'm still feeling burned out about the novel. I will be done ten days after "Bloom's day" (June 16th).

Episode 16 "Eumaeus" of Ulysses reverts to form, being only about sixty pages long. Mind you, those are pages filled with long rambling paragraphs for a scene that amounts to very little beyond recovering from a night of drinking, satisfying the munchies and shooting the breeze.

Eumaeus from The Odyssey is the old and loyal goatherd who must be older than dirt by the time Odysseus returns home. Although Odysseus is in disguise to avoid trouble with the suitors, Eumaeus treats Odysseus with kindness. He gives him a meal and a place to rest.

For Bloom and his buds, that place to rest and eat is the nearby cabman's shelter. Perhaps it was the sheer amount of bull-shittery in this episode and the post drinking spewing, but the trip to the shelter reminded me most of the doughnut shop where Wayne and Garth, et al, go to in Wayne's World whenever they need to hang out, recharge after too much drinking, or make plans.

Next Saturday I'll post my thoughts on Episode Seventeen: Ithaca. If you want to read along, Ulysses is available online at Read Print.

books | fiction | James Joyce | 1918

Comments (0)

Permalink

Comment #1: Tuesday, June, 16, 2009 at 10:49:35

Heather J.

Since you're reading Joyce I thought you might enjoy this link. :)

Comment #2: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 10:36:53

Pusreboots

If I had finished Don Quixote sooner I would have been done with Ulysses in time for Bloomsday. As it is, I'll finish 10 days from now. Here's another link.