36 (U10.315)

In the gloomy domed livingroom of the tower

36th cast. page 10, line 315.

 

In the gloomy domed livingroom of the tower Buck Mulligan’s gowned form moved briskly to and fro about the hearth, hiding and revealing its yellow glow. Two shafts of soft daylight fell across the flagged floor from the high barbacans: and at the meeting of their rays a cloud of coalsmoke and fumes of fried grease floated, turning.

 

Episode 1. We tend to skip the beginning of Ulysses distracted by the daring experiments in the latter half of the book. However, even such an inconspicuous passage is a truly beautiful piece of writing.

 

gloomy, domed livingroom, Mulligan;　 sequence of m.

 

hearth, hiding;　 alliteration of h.

 

yellow, glow;　 rhyme of low.

 

flagged, floor, from, fumes, fried, floated;    alliteration of f.

 

cloud, coalsmoke;　 alliteration of c.

 

Martello Towers were forts built by the British government in various locations in the early 19th century to protect the coastlines and strategic points of Britain and its colonies from the invasion of Napoleon's France.

 

The Martello Tower in Sandy Cove. The British government leased the tower to citizens, and Joyce and her friend Oliver St. John Gogarty lived there in 1904.In Ulysses, Buck Mulligan, modeled after Gogarty, and the main character, Stephen, are set to live in this Martello Tower.

 

The Martello Tower is now the "James Joyce Tower and Museum". A photo of the recreated apartments inside is shown below. Although described as a dome, it is not a hemispherical roof but a barrel one.

 

The word "barbacans" usually means "gate or bridge of a castle or other place," but that does not make sense here. According to the dictionary, it also has the following meaning.

“An opening in the wall of a fortress, through which missiles were discharged upon an enemy."

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

 

As this Episode is a morning scene, light plays a dominant role. 

The walls of the tower are curved, so the rays of the morning sun shining through the windows would intersect.

 

Martello Tower

 "File:James Joyce Tower and Museum, living area (1).jpg" by Rrburke is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

 

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