Plock, V. “’Object Lessons’: Bloom and His Things” James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 49 no. 3-4, 2012, pp. 557-572.

Related Topics

Marxism

Materialism

Objects

Object-Subject Relationships

Link to full text: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/545243/pdf

Plock begins this article with a discussion of the modern novel, specifically looking at two essays by Willa Cather and Virginia Woolf, which both contest that “the objects and overcrowded interiors piled up” (Plock 558) in modern novels detract from the subject-object relationship. Unlike other modern, avant-gard novels, Plock argues that Ulysses is not actually filled with the clutter that plagues the others, but instead creates a strong sense of significance between subjects and objects. This connects to Plock’s thesis, as she argues that this linkage between subject and object emerges most strongly in the “Ithaca” episode, as the reader sees a change from Bloom being surrounded by “commercial, capitalist, and social exchanges” (559) to a static position amongst many private, emotionally charged, and significant objects and memoirs. Plock argues that these personal objects create a sense of intimacy and connection into Bloom’s world through physical objects.

Before actually entering the text of “Ithaca”, Plock does a sort of meta-look at this episode and how it functions, comparing it to other episodes to reveal its differences and strategies. Plock discusses the episode’s obsession with lists (560), and notes that this chapter abandons the deep thought or stream of consciousness narrative, “appear[ing] as an all-inclusive but sterile account of miscellaneous materials, one that remains untainted by emotiveness and sentiment” (560). However, while seemingly unattached, Plock discusses how we have seen this strategy from Bloom whenever he is troubled; that is, his focus on abstract or complicated theoretical problems instead of the actual issue. With this framework, Plock transitions into revealing how this framework makes “Ithaca” one of “the most introspective of all episodes in Ulysses” (561).

In discussing textual examples from “Ithaca”, Plock turns to the failing relationships between Bloom and Stephen, and Molly and Bloom, linking these failures to physical objects in the text. She examines the moment in Bloom’s kitchen with the tea cups, where Bloom deliberately chooses a similar mug to Stephen’s instead of his favorite mustache cup, commenting that “while Bloom demands that material objects perform, once more, their conjunctive work, Stephen fails to reciprocate” (563). Plock marks this instance–over a failure to connect using the material–as the deterioration of their bond. Plock also examines many of the other objects listed, suggesting that they help the reader to develop deeper and more comprehensive views of Bloom’s emotions (566). In examining the significance of physical objects in his relationship with Molly, Plock looks to two parallel instances: when Bloom picks up her old undergarments that morning, and how he performed the same actions with her newer and fancier lingerie after coming home. Plock notes that Bloom’s habits of handling her undergarments both link him to her in an intimate fashion, but paradoxically limit him from further or deeper involvement, which is symbolically representative of his relationship with her. However, Plock concludes that while object investment has not been successful in these relationships, it is an incredibly important aspect of Bloom’s personality and how he relates with and develops an emotional connection in his world. Plock reconnects with her initial discussion by concluding that Ulysses successfully “participates in the general decluttering of the modern novel advocated by Cather and Woolf” (569).

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