Bielawa, Michael J. “’U.p.’ at Bat: Baseball Symbolism in Ulysses’’Nausicaa’” NINE: A

            Journal of Baseball History and Culture 14.1 (2005): 143-50. Project Muse. Web.

Related Topics

Sports and Competition

Baseball

Numerology

In this article, Bielawa analyzes Ulysses’ thirteenth episode, “Nausicaa,” focusing on the striking prevalence of baseball references within the episode, in an effort to understand ways in which Joyce brings America’s pastime to his depiction of Dublin life. Bielawa begins the piece by drawing on an uncanny comparison between James Joyce and American ballplayer James Henry O’Rourke (ironically sharing a name with Ulysses character Larry O’Rourke), who was nicknamed “The Orator,” as a result of his Yale law degree and intelligent reputation. Similarly, Bielawa highlights 1904 as a major year for both James’, with Ulysses taking place on June 16, 1904, and O’Rourke’s nostalgic return to the Major Leagues on September 22, 1904, at the age of 54, eleven years after retiring (144). Bielawa suggests that this unique resemblance between the two, coupled with Joyce’s potential “dissatisfaction with 1904’s lack of a World Series,” drives the pervasive symbolism that he points out in the episode (146). In describing the numerous connections between baseball and “Nausicaa,” Joyce highlights the role of numerology and baseball imagery, using the two as key points in linking the American pastime and the episode.

In his numerological analysis of “Nausicaa,” Bielawa focuses on the number 9, noticing its prevalence in the episode in a variety of forms, finding his observations especially intriguing given the importance of nine in baseball, being the number of innings in a standard game. Referring to nine as, “The Mystic Number,” Bielawa points out nine’s appearances in various forms, for example, in the 54 total instances of derivatives of “nine,” (noting that 5+4=9), Baby Boardman’s age of eleven months and nine days, and the novel’s 18 total episodes (1+8=9), as evidence of this baseball connection (146).

While numerology presents some unique evidence for Joyce’s less visible baseball evidence, Bielawa zeroes in on baseball imagery as the pivotal aspect of his argument. From the “‘arcing fly balls,’” of the twins’ play, to Bloom’s use of a “stick” (which Bielawa points out is slang for “bat”), and especially the stare down between Gerty and Bloom from a distance Bielawa suggests is 60 feet and six inches, the traditional distance between the mound and home plate, these visual images Joyce paints contain an undeniable baseball tint (147). Coupled with the notion that time has stopped, like the untimed feature in baseball, due to Bloom’s broken watch, serves as a major confirmation of Bielawa’s previous claims. With this litany of connections in mind, Bielawa suggests readers look towards the rest of the novel with “Nausicaa’s” baseball symbolism in mind, especially as Bloom seeks to reach home, just like every batter that steps up to the plate.

Game

Forms: game, games, gamey, gamehog(s), gamekeeper, gaming

Related Terms: 

Beat

Compete

Win

Lose

Gay

Gamble

Explication

Throughout Ulysses, the most common usage of game appears in a competitive sense, where the word represents some back and forth  in a jocular manner, connecting with themes of competition and sports in the novel, but also notions of masculinity, femininity, and sexualities. While game is presented in overt images of young boys playing field hockey (U.2.313), the term is also more broadly connected to competition, such as the fierce gambling on the Gold Cup and Bloom’s intensity as he seeks to defeat Boylan for Molly’s love and attention. The lexical item comes up in the bar among men discussing the local decision by police “forbidding Irish games in the park” (U.12.679). Within the e pub, games and sports serve as a major topic of conversation, specifically in relation to the citizen’s Gaelic sports revival, but also in each character’s attempts to prove and assert their masculinity to their male peers.

The other primary use for “game” is as an adjective, usually in reference to someone describing themselves or being described as prepared, ready, or spirited. The term appears in its adjective form in reference to horses as “And a game filly she is” (U. 10. 511) to highlight the high level of attention the Gold Cup race has received. Here, “game” carries a youthfulness and an energy that implies an ability to be competitive (especially in the horse racing world) or a certain level of power or ability that is clear in a person’s character. Later on in “Circe,” in a heated confrontation between Bloom and Bella, after Bloom critiques Bella’s physical features, she responds with “You’re not game in fact,” suggesting a level of physical inadequacy on Bloom’s end as well (U.15.3489). In this more open-ended context, game can refer to Bloom’s sexual and/or physical shortcomings, hinting at him not being up to a certain standard of beauty or sexual performance, therefore being less masculine and inferior.

Ulysses has a few additional variations of game, including gamehog (U.12.1348) and gamekeeper (U.15.648), which align with the animal-related definition of the term that appears in “game of cygnets,” when referring to a group of swans (U.9.160). While gamekeeper is used to manage and protect the animals from being hunted compared to the animal of a gamehog, these three instances highlight a use for game that expands outside of notions of sports and competition.

Across these various definitions and uses for game, a trend that Joyce establishes is the animalistic nature of competition, as well, connecting the word with historically masculine practices such as sports and hunting. However, Joyce employs the term in a range of contexts and forms that masks this underlying theme of masculinity within the realm of competition and sports in Ulysses.

Definitions and Examples:

1. Game, n. (OED n. 2) An activity which provides amusement or fun.

“They were playing the Irving Bishop game, finding the pin blindfold and thoughtreading” (U. 15.444)

7. Game, n. (OED n. 7.a) An activity, undertaking, scheme, state of affairs, etc., likened to a game in its manner of proceeding.

“I shall call rebutting evidence to prove up to the hilt that the hidden hand is again at its old game” (U.15. 975).

III. Game, adj. (OED adj. 2). Having the necessary spirit or will for a specified challenge, adventure, novel experience, etc.; ready and willing.

“And a game filly she is” (U.10. 511)

“When the bell went came on gamey and brimful of pluck, confident of knocking out the fistic Eblanite in jigtime” (U.12. 975)

• Also applied to actions, attributes, etc. (OED 1)

1. Game, n. (OED n. 18). A flock of swans, originally one kept to be hunted for pleasure. Formerly also: any flock or herd of animals or birds maintained for this purpose

“But he does not stay to feed the pen chivying her game of cynets towards the rushes. The swan of Avon has other thought” (U.9.160)

Related Topics

Competition, Sports, Gender, Sexuality

        On the surface, the numerous references to sports that Joyce makes throughout the novel often times feel random or isolated, little islands of sport existing independent from the other competitive moments in the text (with the exception, however of the recurring references to the Gold Cup or the cycling races. The only obvious connection between the boxing match and the Gold Cup, or the rule about playing sports in the park and the collegiate cycling races appears to be that all instances are sports or examples of competition in daily life. However, when considering each of these instances in a collection, sports and competition serve to sustain specific gender roles and expectations of masculinity and femininity, thus producing an anxiety in those who challenge or fail to live up to those gendered guidelines.

As Bloom goes throughout his day, constantly following him is the pervasive presence of sports, along with underlying expectations of manhood, masculinity, and participation in sports. A common trend that surfaces throughout these interactions is Bloom’s separation and exclusion from masculine and competitive pastimes, from his refusal to drink alcohol with his peers in bars to his childhood memory in “Circe” of wearing a football jersey but being off to the side of his sport playing peers. Bloom is frequently positioned as being outside the sports world, visibly uninterested in the cycling races, horse racing, and engaging in these traditionally male domains. While he never openly expresses a distaste for sports or competition, Bloom’s fixation on the ongoing “battle” between him and Boylan, and his recollection in “Circe” of the he losing a running race after slipping underscore an anxiety he associates with athletic endeavors. Despite all these references to sports, playing of sports, and conversations of sports, Bloom never actually participates in any of these. And as a result of this separation between Bloom and a traditionally masculine domain, Joyce highlights the ways in which Bloom is seen as an inferior male compared to his athletic, beer drinking peers and the numerous people participating in sports around him.

As Joyce recounts Bloom’s day, his multi-faceted love affairs with Martha and Molly (and hers with Boylan) fill his mind just as frequently as his masculine shortcomings become incredibly salient in comparison to his wife’s new man. As a result, this internal competition that Bloom constructs versus Boylan, which Joyce likens to a boxing match, serves as a reminder of Bloom’s physical inferiority. Bloom concentrates on the possible ways he can please Molly, in effect “one-upping” her lover, anxiously questioning his various physical inadequacies. Joyce portrays Bloom’s physical fixations as a feminine characteristic, in Molly’s obsession with constantly comparing her beauty with that of her peers in “Penelope.” In this competition between Bloom and Boylan, Joyce underscores the importance of masculinity in this boxing match, something that Bloom clearly lacks in this head to head battle. As the Boylan and Molly love affair progresses over the course of the novel, Joyce continues to emphasize the importance of masculinity and fitting within gender norms, given that Bloom struggles to successfully handle his wife’s love affair, but also navigate the hyper masculine social world around him.

Game

Forms: game, games, gamey, gamehog(s), gamekeeper

Related Terms: 

Beat

Custom

Compete

Win

Lose

Gay

Explication

The most common usage of the word “game” appears in a competitive sense, where the word serves to represent some (either formal or informal) back and forth between individuals in an often jocular manner [“The game of laugh and lie down” (U. 9. 458)]. Even in instances that may not directly reference a specific competition, “game” is often used in relation to traditional sports terms [“game ball” (U. 10.304)]. The lexical item comes up in specific reference to competitive sports [“police forbidding Irish games in the park” (U. 12.679)] but also less formal games not related to sports [“The hidden hand is again at its old game” (U. 15.975)].

The second most common use for “game” is as an adjective, usually in reference to someone describing themselves or being described as prepared, ready, or spirited [“I’ll introduce you, inspector. She’s game” (U. 15.747)]. The term also appears in its adjective form in reference to horses as “And a game filly she is” (U. 10. 511)]. In both of these descriptive contexts, “game” carries a youthfulness and an energy that implies an ability to be competitive (especially in the horse racing world) or a certain level of power or ability that is clear in a person’s character.

As well, Ulysses has a few additional variations that add different definitions such as “gamehogs” [“The fellows that never will be slaves, with the only hereditary chamber on the face of God’s earth and their land in the hands of a dozen gamehogs and cottonball baron” (U. 12.1348)] and “gamekeeper” [“God help his gamekeeper” (U. 15. 648)], which both carry unique yet somewhat uncertain definitions within the context of the term’s usage.

Definitions and Examples:

1. Game, n. (OED n. 2) An activity which provides amusement or fun.

“They were playing the Irving Bishop game, finding the pin blindfold and thoughtreading” (U. 15.444)

2. Game, n. (OED n. 7.a) An activity, undertaking, scheme, state of affairs, etc., likened to a game in its manner of proceeding.

“I shall call rebutting evidence to prove up to the hilt that the hidden hand is again at its old game” (U. 15. 975).

3. 3. Game, adj. (OED adj. 2). Having the necessary spirit or will for a specified challenge, adventure, novel experience, etc.; ready and willing.

“And a game filly she is” (U. 10. 511)

“When the bell went came on gamey and brimful of pluck, confident of knocking out the fistic Eblanite in jigtime” (U. 12. 975)

• Also applied to actions, attributes, etc. (OED 1)

Related Topics

Competition, Sports, Gender, Sexuality,

In the first 17 episodes, one way competition has manifested, which I wrote about in an earlier blog post, is through Bloom’s feelings of being physically inadequate, especially in comparison to Boylan. As we look to Penelope, a similar notion arises, but in Molly’s world, which is especially interesting to consider given the perfection that Joyce paints Molly with, especially in compared to her husband. In Penelope, a similar notion of inadequacy and a need to stack up to other women arises in how Molly talks about her body, especially in relation to her peers.

Beginning on like 476, Molly comments “O well look at that Mrs. Galbraith shes much older that me I saw her when I was out last week her beautys on the wane she was a lovely woman magnificent head of hair on her down to her waist tossing it back like that like Kitty OShea” (18.476). While Molly seems clearly cognizant of her own physical beauty to some extent, this instance follows a trend of bodily competition and constant shame related to bodies and their shortcomings. This moment continues to highlight an anxiety that both Molly and Bloom, and likely other characters as well, experience. Even for someone being touted as having a long list of suitors, Molly’s anxieties related to her body, but also her fixation on other people’s bodies, continues in this moment to appear central in her thoughts. And expectably so, this anxiety is merely fueled by a societal correlation between social and physical capital. Just as Bloom’s physical shortcomings appear to drive his obsession with Boylan coming and seducing his wife, Molly’s own insecurities simultaneously influence her desire to engage with Boylan, given his status as an attractive man.

When thinking about Circe for last class, there was an aspect about this hallucinatory episode that made me think about the notion of repression. And I got the sense in thinking about the instances where sports occurred in the first half of the episode, that sports were something that Bloom purposefully avoided. For example, in the moment when Bloom admits that he slipped and fell, losing a running race, blaming it on his poor footing, it seemed to me that there was a clear notion of shame that he associated with sports and that moment.

Another aspect of Circe that aids my thinking about this notion of athletic repression is that in previous episodes, Bloom has never been mentioned to play a sport or engage in some physical activity (in actuality–there have been a few instances of imaginary sport i.e. boxing). But in Circe, on page 447, around line 3325, Joyce depicts a young Bloom, with his peers who were playing football/soccer (in the wrong colored jerseys apparently). Bloom is described as being off to the side, as the others shout to him, physically located outside of the group.

This instance seems to speak similarly to the example in the first half of the episode, but also illuminates some potential early moments of Bloom’s masculinity coming into question. My thoughts exactly are still formulating on what these moments in Circe say about sport, masculinity, and Bloom, but it makes me wonder a lot about Bloom’s anxiety regarding masculinity and how we can better understand his complex relationship with Molly in relation to his repressed emotions that finally surface.

In an effort to understand Episode 15 of Ulysses, unfortunately, looking at the mess through sports and competition offers few answers to the many questions and great confusion created by the text. I’ve been noticing a trend in this episode that is somewhat similar to previous episodes, where mentions of sports/competition, which up to this point there are roughly a handful of in episode 15, pop up as brief little islands in the text, appearing in a sentence only to be quickly forgotten. As a result, until I can make additional conclusions about the purpose of these references more generally in the whole text, I aim to understand some of the references in the text now on an isolated level.

In Episode 15, Joyce brings us two cyclists racing past Bloom (15.179), but the fact that cyclists are included is diminished considering that “urchins” are what alerts Bloom of their coming. The topic of cycling later returns at line 233, when Bloom makes reference to the Irish Cyclist publication.  A few lines after the urchins, we have what might be a merely coincidental sports terms, when the Motorman mentions “Are you doing the hat trick?” (15. 194). Thinking about the reference to one player scoring three goals  alone, however, does not make much sense immediately in the context of the quote.

One of the more substantive moments of competition occurs at line 277, when Bloom mentions “They challenged me to a sprint. It was muddy. I slipped.” Instead of claiming and owning up to his loss, Bloom blames his athletic shortcomings, and likely perceived lack of masculinity and strength on the quality of the ground. In this instance, the theme of Bloom’s masculinity in question continues to reappear, as we have seen in previous episodes.

Another instance of note, and one of the last competitive moments so far is the highly ironic horse racing conversation around line 547, where Bloom talks about Molly winning seven shillings on a horse named “Nevertell.” This name is especially ironic that she is deemed a winner with “Nevertell,” given that she’s never explicitly told Bloom about her affair with Boylan, but still can seem to “win” by being able to maintain both relationships.

Game

Forms: game, games, gamey, gamehog(s), gamekeeper

Related Terms: 

beat, custom, gay, pair

Explication

The most common usage of the word “game” appears in a competitive sense, where the word serves to represent some (either formal or informal) back and forth between individuals in an often jocular manner [“The game of laugh and lie down” (U. 9. 458)]. Even in instances that may not directly reference a specific competition, “game” is often used in relation to traditional sports terms [“game ball” (U. 10.304)]. The lexical item comes up in specific reference to competitive sports [“police forbidding Irish games in the park” (U. 12.679)] but also less formal games not related to sports [“The hidden hand is again at its old game” (U. 15.975)].

The second most common use for “game” is as an adjective, usually in reference to someone describing themselves or being described as prepared, ready, or spirited [“I’ll introduce you, inspector. She’s game” (U. 15.747)]. The term also appears in its adjective form in reference to horses as “And a game filly she is” (U. 10. 511)]. In both of these descriptive contexts, “game” carries a youthfulness and an energy that implies an ability to be competitive (especially in the horse racing world) or a certain level of power or ability that is clear in a person’s character.

As well, Ulysses has a few additional variations that add different definitions such as “gamehogs” [“The fellows that never will be slaves, with the only hereditary chamber on the face of God’s earth and their land in the hands of a dozen gamehogs and cottonball baron” (U. 12.1348)] and “gamekeeper” [“God help his gamekeeper” (U. 15. 648)], which both carry unique yet somewhat uncertain definitions within the context of the term’s usage.

Definitions and Examples:

Noun:

• Amusement, sport, fun; pleasure, enjoyment, in later use only with modifying adjective, as  great (good, etc.) game.

“So off they started about Irish sports and shoneen games the like of lawn tennis”

• Freq. with the. Lovemaking; amorous sport or dalliance; (also) an instance of this. In modern (and some earlier) use often specifically denoting sexual intercourse. Now rare.

*No clear usage of this definition in Ulysses*

• slang. With the. Prostitution. Earliest in  lady (also girl, etc.) of the game. In later use chiefly in on the game

*No clear usage of this definition in Ulysses*

• Originally: a butt or object of ridicule, a laughing stock

*No clear usage of this definition in Ulysses*

Adjective:

• Of a person or animal: full of pluck, spirit, or fight; spirited, plucky; intrepid. Also applied to actions, attributes, etc.

“I’ll introduce you, inspector. She’s game” (U. 15.747)

“And a game filly she is” (U. 10. 511)

• Having the necessary spirit or will for a specified challenge, adventure, novel experience, etc.; ready and willing

“When the bell went came on gamey and brimful of pluck, confident of knocking out the fistic Eblanite in jigtime” (U. 12. 975)

Verb

(Verb usage of “game” have not been found in a search of the text)

• intr. To amuse oneself; to play, sport, jest; (occas.) to indulge in amorous or flirtatious play. Formerly also (occas.) trans. (refl.) in same sense.

*No clear usage of this definition in Ulysses*

• trans. colloq. Originally: to make fun of. Later: to deceive, ‘kid’. Now chiefly U.S

*No clear usage of this definition in Ulysses*

• intr. To take part in an indoor game, of a kind on which stakes or wagers may be placed; esp. to play games of chance for such stakes or wagers; to gamble. Now somewhat arch

*No clear usage of this definition in Ulysses*

Related Topics (?)

Competition, Sports, Gender, Sexuality,

Prior to Episode 13, there was a constant and clear connection between sports and men/masculinity. Any references to women regarding sports were avoided at all costs and the two existed in completely separate spheres, which is not entirely surprising.

However, in Episode 13, as Joyce depicts Gerty’s distant interest in Bloom, these two seemingly polar opposites converge when Gerty tries to internally convince herself of her feminine allure that Bloom will most certainly fall in love with. As she reminds herself, “She was a womanly woman not like other flighty girls unfeminine he had known, those cyclists showing off what they hadn’t got” (435). While we have had discussions about the role of masculinity for Bloom and the men in Ulysses, but this is one of the first glimpses of it functioning in reverse. What does this both say about the world of sport and its connection with Irish personhood/manhood, but also how can we interpret this comment in the context of masculinity?

As the day continues for Bloom, his increasing anxiety regarding Blazes Boylan and his likely affair with Molly begins to rule his emotions and his actions. Similar to the previous episodes, Joyce relies on the constant presence of sports and competition to draw additional attention to Bloom’s rising tensions about seeing and interacting with Blazes, as well as his nervousness about going home to Molly. In this episode, Joyce brings in a new sport, boxing, which certainly serves as a good metaphor for this somewhat low-level war between Blazes and Bloom. Blazes continues to appear, with a punch to Bloom’s gut, even if Bloom is merely reminded by him, and more than anything, Leopold is desperate to respond.

In Episode 10, the tenth “section” highlights his obsessiveness towards matching up to Boylan, who Joyce portrays as an ideal man, especially compared to his descriptions of the lowly Bloom, who seems lucky to have landed Molly. Bloom’s efforts to match up are on display as he goes to extreme lengths to find some sexually pleasing literature to bring back to Molly, in an attempt to rival Boylan’s desirability. As Bloom shops, Joyce points out his rather hopeless attempts to measure up in great detail: “Onions of his breath came across the counter out of his ruined mouth. He bent to make a bundle of the other books, hugged them against his unbuttoned waistcoast and bore them off behind the dingy curtain” (596).

In thinking about the extreme lengths Bloom is willing to go to defeat Boylan, is he doing this for the sake of Molly or merely to beat her new lover? Given that Bloom has acknowledged their dysfunctional relationship and sex life, what are his motivations behind engaging this in this uneven boxing match that he seems guaranteed to lose?