While many of the examples in Ashplant’s Ulysses lexicon section include words like “flower” or “host” that Joyce uses frequently in his diction, the word I am proposing, “scrimmage,” has so far only one appearance in the text. But similar to my blog post and my in class discussion on the topic of competition, there is an informal competitive nature constantly present in the text, which I think is very much worth exploring.
“Scrimmage,” primarily takes two meanings, both of which we have seen so far in the first six episodes. The first definition, which Joyce has not utilized “scrimmage” in direct mention to this definition to this point, refers to a less formal game or competition, such as the students playing field hockey while Dedalus speaks with Mr. Deasy. In this example, the game was energetic and the students were getting into it, given their loud screams that could be hear in Dedalus’ conversation, but the scene was not quite as formal as an organized match.
The second meaning to “scrimmage,” that Joyce more directly employs in Ulysses, is found when Bloom remarks on his affair with Martha as, “usual love scrimmage” (4.271). Similar to the first definition, Joyce implies a certain informality to the relationship compared to his marriage to Molly. But however, the use of “scrimmage” here indicates a level of back and forth between Martha and Bloom, and Joyce employs the term to suggest that despite Bloom’s slight reluctance in this affair, it still resembles that of a relationship like his marriage. As the text continues, even if “scrimmage” receives little direct use, this notion of informal competition will likely continue to be present.
The other term that piqued my interest was “kidney,” mainly present in Bloom’s excursions in episode four, in his trip to the butcher, his cooking of the kidney, and feeding of the cat. The term also has some interesting connotations that could be delved into further with the medical function of the kidney. But similar to “scrimmage,” I speak without much certainty about its prevalence moving forward in the text.
