Cheng, Vincent J. "‘Goddinpotty’: James Joyce and the Literature of Excrement." In The Languages of Joyce: Selected Papers from the 11th International James Joyce Symposium, Venice, 12-18 June 1988, edited by Rosa Maria Bollettieri Bosinelli, Carla Marengo, and Christine van Boheemen, 85–99. Philadelphia: John Benjamins North America, 1992.

Related topics:

Catholicism
Ingestion and Excretion
Race and Ethnicity
Religion
Waste

Link to citation page: https://www.worldcat.org/title/languages-of-joyce-selected-papers-from-the-11th-international-james-joyce-symposium-venice-12-18-june-1988/oclc/26635928&referer=brief_results

Link to full text:

Cheng's article dives into Joyce's excrement-related language in both Ulysses and Finnegans Wake to highlight the similarities between the creation of language and of filth, an amalgamation "of the sacred and of the profane" that drives Joyce's literature (93). Throughout the piece, Cheng draws attention to significant excretion passages, such as Stephen's urination (U 3.453-460), Bloom's trip to the outhouse (U 4.506-510), and Biddy's letter in Finnegans Wake (FW 110-111), putting these in conversation with a Catholic reading of Joyce. Ultimately, Cheng finds that, in the language of excretions, Joyce blends "God and clod; poet and potty; Word and turd," making Joyce's works significant in their ability to highlight the inherent "creator-ness" of all humans (98).

Citations and Related Sources

Boyle, Robert. "Miracle in Black Ink: A Glance at Joyce’s Use of His Eucharistic Image." James Joyce Quarterly 10, no. 1 (1972): 46–70.

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