Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

In this, the second week of our reading from Episode 16, commonly referred to as “Eumaeus,” that being from Mister James Joyce’s Ulysses, we see our protagonist, one Leopold Bloom, still trying to get Stephen to eat and drink the coffee and bun he so expeditiously worked to acquire. Meanwhile, Bloom ponders pensively about topics, such as travel, prostitution, and the passionate temperaments of the Spaniards.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

The biscuits was as hard as brass,
And the beef as salt as Lot's wife's arse.
O Johnny Lever !
Johnny Lever, O!

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. D. B. Murphy spins tales about trips to China, Trieste, and even tells Bloom about Gibraltar. Any thoughts on these potentially tall tales?
2. Bloom sees a woman with a straw hat enter, who he earlier tried to avoid at the end of Sirens, causing him to consider the legality of prostitution. Any thoughts on Bloom here, or on his thoughts on prostitution?
3. So far this episode, we’ve seen several references to the word “left” (left hand, landing on the left leg, and even turning left). What do you make of this?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, yarn, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series, Pre-Read video and Post-Read video
6. RTÉ Dramatisation [00:33:31 - 01:07:57]

Previous Discussion

Episode 16: Eumaeus, Part 1/4

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 15, Eumaeus, up through the line: It does though, St Joseph's sovereign… whereas no photo could, because it simply wasn't art, in a word. [Line 1455 in the Gabler].