Jun. 27th, 2008

dot_fennel: (Default)
I know there are a zillion companion reference books for Ulysses. Are there any which err on the side of just giving information, not analysis?

Good: "The Martello towers were built by England in the early 1800s to defend Ireland against French invasion; the French intended to foment revolution among the Irish. Joyce himself stayed in the tower at Sandycove for five days with Oliver St. John Gogarty, on whom the character of Mulligan was based."

Bad: Supplementing the above with "The towers are thus a symbol of English power over Ireland." and "The Falstaffian character of Mulligan threatens to usurp Stephen's place in his own story, dominating the conversation with quips and urging Stephen to sell his creativity to the British interloper Haines and go drinking with him."

I'm sure I'll want the analysis eventually-- it's not like I'm so very sharp at doing it myself-- but I also want to be able to look up places and song lyrics and bits of Catholicism without being told why Joyce included them.

This must exist. Everything exists.

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Dorothy Fennel

February 2016

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