White, Patrick. “The Key in ‘Ulysses.’” James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1, 1971, pp. 10-25.
Link to citation page: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486940?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=the&searchText=house&searchText=of&searchText=keys&searchText=in&searchText=ulysses&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dthe%2Bhouse%2Bof%2Bkeys%2Bin%2Bulysses%26amp%3Bprq%3D%2522images%2Bin%2Bulysses%2522%26amp%3Bso%3Drel%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bhp%3D25%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Link to full text: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25486940.pdf
Related Topics:
Power Dynamics, Relationships, Imagery
In “The Key to ‘Ulysses,’” Patrick White analyzes the use of the image of a key throughout the novel, specifically how it comes to define certain power dynamics between characters. White begins by first discussing the ways in which previous analyses have offered slight insights into the topic, but have rarely given readers an in depth look into the ways in which keys appear as a crucial “motif” (10) over the course of Ulysses. The author offers brief descriptions of the previous explorations of the key image by other critics such as S. K. Goldberg and Richard Kain, who discuss the recurring key imagery as an “emblem of possession” and “the keylessness of the modern man” (11) respectively. However, White asserts that a more detailed examination of the “key motif” allows for an understanding of the novel itself, in that the symbolism offers “a key to the meaning of Ulysses” (10).
For the majority of the article, White compares the ways in which images of a key comes about in the lives of Stephen and Bloom. White cites specific moments of importance when Stephen “voluntarily gives” (13) the keys in his possession away in the opening episode. White argues that such an action is formulated by Joyce with the goal of specifying the power dynamics between Stephen and Buck Mulligan (in that, by passing over the keys Stephen has acknowledged a weaker position). The article goes on to clarify how, for the analysis of the keys in Bloom’s life, it is crucial to recognize that he “does not consciously part with his key” instead “he simply forgets it” (17). As such, Bloom’s obliviousness to the loss of the key indicates his complete unawareness for the “authoritative dominion” (18) it would imply.
White finishes the article by exploring “Keyes’s ad” (19), prevalent throughout “Aeolus.” In discussing the rich imagery and meaning that comes along with the crossed keys that make up the symbol used by Bloom, the article illuminates how keys can represent authoritative positioning in a context wider than that of the text. White ends the piece by summarizing the characters’ respective statuses within the novel, all dependent on their relation to the possession (or lack thereof) of keys.
Relevant References:
Richard M. Kain, The Babulous Voyager (University of Chicago Press, 1947) and Levin, James Joyce
S. L. Goldberg, The Classical Temper (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1961), p. 154.
