{"id":627,"date":"2016-11-22T08:27:33","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T08:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/?p=627"},"modified":"2016-11-22T08:27:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T08:27:33","slug":"formatted-lexicon-entry-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/uncategorized\/formatted-lexicon-entry-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Formatted Lexicon Entry (Final)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe soul is in a manner all that is: the soul is the form of form. Tranquility sudden, vast, candescent form of forms.\u201d (U 2, 1245). This early quote by Talbot in Nestor frames Joyce\u2019s use of the \u201csoul\u201d throughout the novel as being the \u201cinherent quality\u201d of a person place or thing. Used sixty-six times within the novel and in every single chapter of the book, \u201csoul\u201d encapsulates Joyce\u2019s concern with the ever-evolving self and essence of being. Instead of drawing from a plurality of vastly differing definitions, Joyce uses repetition and juxtaposition to compare slightly different definitions of the word soul. Joyce connects different characters\u2019 extremely personalized definition of the phrase with the more traditional and ecclesiastical definition of soul by placing these conflicting concepts within jarring proximity to one another. (U3 2165, 2366). The inherent uncertainty surrounding identity throughout the plot is exemplified through these slightly varying takes on what should be a concrete concept. If the soul is the unchangeable inherent quality of an individual, then the treatment of the word in the text reveals the ways in which Joyce attempt to undermine this uncertainty.<\/p>\n

The intersectionality of many characters further complicates the word\u2019s use, as exemplified by Bloom\u2019s joint Judaic and Catholic identity. The discrepancies between these two religions should have ramifications on the soul, per both belief systems, an irony the repetition exacerbates. \u201cNow he\u2019s really what they call a dirty jew\u2026 And may the Lord have mercy on your soul\u201d (U 8 8681).
\nIn addition to complicating preconceived notions of what the soul is, Joyce is interested in taking these canonical interpretations of the word \u201csoul\u201d and complicating the matter through related terms like \u201cmetempsychosis\u201d. Defined as \u201cthe supposed transmigration at death of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species\u201d, this frequently recurring word reflects the structure of the novel; particularly in sections like Circe where the inanimate, animal, and \u201cdistinctly human\u201d become indistinguishable. The \u201cinherent quality”of characters is lost through Joyce\u2019s deconstruction of the text itself, assigning dialogue to unexpected speakers or burying a speaker\u2019s identity within the text. These occasionally sacrilegious overtones that permeate throughout the text align with the obfuscation of what a \u201csoul\u201d truly is. Even the definition provided by Talbot unravels in later chapters.The frequency with which we encounter the word normalizes what is traditionally considered extraordinary, and allows Joyce to play with the concept of a \u201csoul\u201d through both his shifting characterization and varied modes of storytelling, despite its well-established traditional definitions and connotations.<\/p>\n

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  1. Soul, noun.(OED 2) An essential principle or attribute of life, and related senses; animate existence; this viewed as a possession of which one is deprived by death. death.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n