To assess beginnings and endings throughout the novel is to bring to light two distinct functions—the first is form, the second more based on topics. In terms of form, beginnings and endings often shape the ways in which we read the novel, and how clear (or not) certain episodes are. On the topics side of the subject, the themes within this category that seemed to reoccur quite frequently were life and death. Under the umbrella theme of life can be found subgenres such as birth, parentage, and origins, while discussions of death focus largely on relationships to the deceased and impacts of such deaths.

With regards to the form, beginnings and endings can be considered as both how each episode opens and closes, but also periodically how the episode is structured. In thinking about Ulysses, it is clear that each portion varies in some way, often very distinctly, from all the others. For example, Episode 15 (“Circe”) noticeably uses a theatrical form, a structure that allows for readers to understand when one speaker’s moment begins and subsequently ends. Such a form stands in contrast to less distinguishable portions such as episodes focused on inner thoughts of characters—Stephen in “Proteus” (Episode 3), where one thought often blurs into the next. Keeping track of beginnings and endings, with a focus on form and structure, allows for an understanding of the novel through different perspectives (narration). As such, beginnings and endings can function as indicators of speech (“Circe”), episode tone (i.e. “Sirens”), and clarity—or lack thereof (“Ithica”).

In assessing the obsession of beginnings and endings with a more thematic focus, the novel brings forth complications with regards to the topics of birth/life and death. While each can be broken down further into subcategories, it seems important to point them out as the most substantially recurring examples of beginnings and endings. Within the subject of births, Ulysses seems to focus largely on both origins and the actual concept of birth. From Molly: “My wife is, so to speak, Spanish, half that is. Point of fact she could actually claim Spanish nationality if she wanted, having been born in (technically Spain, I.e. Gibraltar” (16.876-79), to the fleetingly relevant character D.B. Murphy from, “Fort Camden and Fort Carlisle. That’s where I hails from” (16.418-20), it is apparent that Joyce puts a focus on the places or backgrounds people are from (i.e. Bloom’s complicated history with Judaism).

Ulysses often complicates readers’ understanding of the usually straightforward concept of birth. Not only does Joyce portray a moment in which Bloom is/could be pregnant: “He is about to have a baby” (15.1818), but also offers ponderings of the birth process through Stephen’s wondering, “One of her sisterhood lugged me squealing into life. Creation from nothing” (3.35). It is not uncommon for Joyce to cause readers to question what they know to be true, however his complications of such an established act truly epitomizes the misperceptions and confusions throughout the novel. Another very similar topic that Joyce makes sure to maintain as confusing is parentage. For example, the complication of a well known lineage: “”Moses begat Noah begat Noah begat Eunuch[…]” (15. 1855). While this is only one instance in which such confusion is brought to light, this theme seems to pop up quite often, and with more pertinence to the novel’s characters themselves.

Oppositely, death functions as the biggest reoccurring theme relevant to endings. Not only is Dignam’s death a constant topic of conversation, but the idea itself is often called upon to reference time or situations. While death is an important and contentious topic to Stephen (consider his mother): “He kills his mother but he can’t wear grey trousers” (1.122), it is also a significant subject in Bloom’s life when we consider Rudy: “When we left Lombard street west something changed. Could never like it again after Rudy” (8.609-610). Characters in Ulysses seemed to be riddled with images and hauntings from deaths, inherently endings of lives, throughout the novel—in ways that shape its course.