Summary
The Music of Memory and Desire
Ulysses by James Joyce
Bloom is at the Ormond Hotel for a late lunch, and Joyce writes the chapter as music. The prose mimics the structure of a fugue per canonem — themes introduced, developed, inverted, recapitulated. Words repeat with variation. Sentences move in rhythmic phrases. The barmaids, Miss Douce and Miss Kennedy, are the sirens: beautiful, knowing, drawing men toward them without particular effort or cruelty. Blazes Boylan stops in for a drink before proceeding to Eccles Street. Bloom watches from the dining room, unable to stop himself, as Boylan — brash, cheerful, oblivious to the damage he causes — tosses back his drink and leaves. The clock advances: it is now approaching four o'clock. Bloom knows what is happening at his home. He cannot bring himself to leave. He orders food and writes a letter to Martha Clifford under his pen name Henry Flower. He composes carefully, choosing words, constructing a mild fantasy. The letter writing is a way of not thinking about what he is thinking about. It works partially. What it actually reveals is the gap between the life Bloom lives inside his imagination and the life he cannot act on in the world. Meanwhile, various Dublin men sing sentimental Irish ballads in the bar room — nostalgic for a past that never quite existed. Bloom listens and thinks about the power of music to manufacture emotion, to make people feel things that have no precise object. He is moved despite himself. He is always moved despite himself. The chapter ends with Bloom releasing a fart as the distant cannon fires the time signal — a small, private, biological fact against the chapter's elaborate musical architecture. Joyce will not let the beauty float free of the body that contains it.
Coming Up in Chapter 12
Bloom's afternoon continues as he encounters a more aggressive and politically charged atmosphere. The narrative voice shifts dramatically, becoming more satirical and confrontational as Irish nationalism and anti-Semitism collide in a Dublin pub.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
pisode 11: Sirens Bronze by gold heard the hoofirons, steelyringing. Imperthnthn thnthnthn. Chips, picking chips off rocky thumbnail, chips. Horrid! And gold flushed more. A husky fifenote blew. Blew. Blue bloom is on the. Goldpinnacled hair. A jumping rose on satiny breast of satin, rose of Castile. Trilling, trilling: Idolores. Peep! Who’s in the... peepofgold? Tink cried to bronze in pity. And a call, pure, long and throbbing. Longindying call. Decoy. Soft word. But look: the bright stars fade. Notes chirruping answer. O rose! Castile. The morn is breaking. Jingle jingle jaunted jingling. Coin rang. Clock clacked. Avowal. Sonnez. I could. Rebound of garter. Not leave thee. Smack. La cloche! Thigh smack. Avowal. Warm. Sweetheart, goodbye! Jingle. Bloo. Boomed crashing chords. When love absorbs. War! War! The tympanum. A sail! A veil awave upon the waves. Lost. Throstle fluted. All is lost now. Horn. Hawhorn. When first he saw. Alas! Full tup. Full throb. Warbling. Ah, lure! Alluring. Martha! Come! Clapclap. Clipclap. Clappyclap. Goodgod henev erheard inall. Deaf bald Pat brought pad knife took up. A moonlit nightcall: far, far. I feel so sad. P. S. So lonely blooming. Listen! The spiked and winding cold seahorn. Have you the? Each, and for other, plash and silent roar. Pearls: when she. Liszt’s rhapsodies. Hissss. You don’t? Did not: no, no: believe: Lidlyd. With a cock with a carra. Black. Deepsounding. Do, Ben, do. Wait while you wait. Hee hee. Wait while you hee. But wait! Low in dark middle earth. Embedded ore. Naminedamine. Preacher is he: All gone. All fallen. Tiny, her tremulous fernfoils of maidenhair. Amen! He gnashed in fury. Fro. To, fro. A baton cool protruding. Bronzelydia by Minagold. By bronze, by gold, in oceangreen of shadow. Bloom. Old Bloom. One rapped, one tapped, with a carra, with a cock. Pray for him! Pray, good people! His gouty fingers nakkering. Big Benaben. Big Benben. Last rose Castile of summer left bloom I feel so sad alone. Pwee! Little wind piped wee. True men. Lid Ker Cow De and Doll. Ay, ay. Like you men. Will lift your tschink with tschunk. Fff! Oo! Where bronze from anear? Where gold from afar? Where hoofs? Rrrpr. Kraa. Kraandl. Then not till then. My eppripfftaph. Be pfrwritt. Done. Begin! Bronze by gold, miss Douce’s head by miss Kennedy’s head, over the crossblind of the Ormond bar heard the viceregal hoofs go by, ringing steel. —Is that her? asked miss Kennedy. Miss Douce said yes, sitting with his ex, pearl grey and eau de Nil. —Exquisite contrast, miss Kennedy said. When all agog miss Douce said eagerly: —Look at the fellow in the tall silk. —Who? Where? gold asked more eagerly. —In the second carriage, miss Douce’s wet lips said, laughing in the sun. He’s looking. Mind till I see. She darted, bronze, to the backmost corner, flattening her face against the pane in a halo of hurried breath. Her wet lips tittered: —He’s killed looking back. She laughed: —O wept! Aren’t men frightful...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Emotional Compartments - How We Fragment Ourselves to Survive
The survival strategy of splitting ourselves into separate functioning parts when reality becomes too overwhelming to face as a whole.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how we split ourselves into separate personas to survive overwhelming situations, and when that protection becomes a prison.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you switch between versions of yourself—work-you versus home-you versus social-media-you—and ask what each compartment is protecting you from.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Stream of consciousness
A writing technique that captures the continuous flow of thoughts and sensations through a character's mind, often jumping between ideas without logical transitions. Joyce uses this to show how our minds really work - messy, musical, full of interruptions.
Modern Usage:
Like scrolling through social media where your brain jumps from a friend's vacation photo to remembering your own trip to wondering what's for dinner.
Leitmotif
A recurring musical or literary theme associated with a particular character, idea, or emotion. Joyce weaves repeated phrases and sounds throughout this chapter like a composer uses recurring melodies.
Modern Usage:
Like how certain songs instantly remind you of specific people or how you associate particular phrases with family members or friends.
Barmaid
A woman who serves drinks in a pub or hotel bar, often expected to be charming and flirtatious with customers to encourage business. In Joyce's Dublin, this was one of the few jobs available to working-class women.
Modern Usage:
Similar to servers, bartenders, or hostesses today who use personality and charm as part of customer service.
Music hall
Popular entertainment venues in Victorian and Edwardian times featuring variety acts, songs, and performances. They were social gathering places where different classes mixed and emotions ran high.
Modern Usage:
Like karaoke bars, sports bars with live music, or any place where strangers bond over shared entertainment.
Adultery anxiety
The fear and obsession that develops when someone suspects their spouse is being unfaithful. Bloom knows his wife is meeting another man this afternoon and can't stop thinking about it.
Modern Usage:
The same spiral of thoughts that happens when you're suspicious about your partner - checking their phone, analyzing every text, imagining scenarios.
Social performance
The way people put on different personalities or behaviors depending on their audience and setting. The barmaids perform femininity, the men perform masculinity, everyone's playing roles.
Modern Usage:
Like how you act differently at work versus with friends versus on dating apps - we're all performing different versions of ourselves.
Characters in This Chapter
Leopold Bloom
Protagonist
Sits in the hotel bar writing a secret letter to Martha while tormented by thoughts of his wife's affair. His mind wanders between the music, his memories, and his current emotional pain.
Modern Equivalent:
The guy nursing one drink at the bar while scrolling through his phone, pretending to be fine while his world falls apart
Miss Douce
Barmaid/temptress figure
One of two barmaids who represent different types of feminine allure. She's more bold and flirtatious, snapping her garter and commanding male attention through calculated charm.
Modern Equivalent:
The confident bartender who knows exactly how to work her tips and enjoys the power of being desired
Miss Kennedy
Barmaid/temptress figure
The other barmaid, more reserved than Miss Douce but equally aware of her effect on men. Together they create a dynamic of different approaches to feminine power.
Modern Equivalent:
The quieter server who gets attention through mystery rather than boldness
Simon Dedalus
Performer/father figure
Stephen's father who sings beautifully in the bar, stirring deep emotions in the listeners. His performance becomes a vehicle for memory and longing for all who hear it.
Modern Equivalent:
The regular customer who everyone loves when he gets up to sing karaoke because he actually has talent
Ben Dollard
Performer/companion
A large man with a powerful bass voice who performs alongside Simon. His physical presence and vocal power create a contrast that adds to the musical complexity of the scene.
Modern Equivalent:
The big guy with the surprisingly beautiful voice who always brings down the house at open mic night
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Bronze by gold heard the hoofirons, steelyringing"
Context: The opening line that introduces the two barmaids through the colors of their hair while horses pass outside
Joyce immediately establishes his musical technique, using alliteration and rhythm to create meaning. The bronze and gold become musical notes that will recur throughout the chapter.
In Today's Words:
Two women with different colored hair heard horses clopping by on the street
"Listen! The spiked and winding cold seahorn"
Context: Bloom's mind drifts to thoughts of the sea and distance while listening to music
The seahorn represents both literal sound and metaphorical call - perhaps the call of adventure, escape, or the unknown that Bloom feels but cannot answer.
In Today's Words:
He heard something that made him think of faraway places and different possibilities
"War! War! The tympanum"
Context: During an intense musical performance that stirs violent emotions
Music becomes a battlefield of emotions. The tympanum (eardrum) suggests how sound physically impacts us, how music can feel like an assault on our senses and feelings.
In Today's Words:
The music hit him like a punch, overwhelming and intense
Thematic Threads
Isolation
In This Chapter
Bloom sits surrounded by people yet remains completely alone in his thoughts and secret correspondence
Development
Deepens from earlier chapters where Bloom wandered Dublin's streets—now even in social spaces, he's fundamentally disconnected
In Your Life:
You might recognize this in how you can feel loneliest in crowded rooms or family gatherings.
Performance
In This Chapter
The barmaids perform femininity for male customers while Bloom performs normalcy despite his inner turmoil
Development
Builds on morning chapters where characters put on social masks—here the performance becomes more elaborate and musical
In Your Life:
You see this when you maintain your 'work personality' or 'family role' even when it doesn't match how you really feel.
Memory
In This Chapter
Music triggers cascades of memories about Bloom's courtship with Molly, mixing past joy with present pain
Development
Continues the stream-of-consciousness technique, showing how present moments constantly activate past experiences
In Your Life:
You experience this when a song, smell, or phrase suddenly transports you to a completely different time and emotional state.
Desire
In This Chapter
Multiple forms of longing intersect—sexual desire, nostalgia for lost love, the barmaids' allure, Bloom's secret correspondence
Development
Expands from Bloom's morning thoughts about Molly to show how desire operates in social spaces with multiple participants
In Your Life:
You might notice this in how you're drawn to things that remind you of what you've lost or what you're missing.
Class
In This Chapter
The hotel bar represents a specific social space where working barmaids serve middle-class patrons, each playing their expected roles
Development
Continues Joyce's examination of Dublin's social hierarchy, now focused on service industry dynamics
In Your Life:
You see this in any workplace where your job requires you to perform a certain class identity that may not match your actual economic reality.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Leopold Bloom write secret letters to Martha while sitting in a public bar, and what does this tell us about how he's handling his marriage problems?
analysis • surface - 2
How does the music in the hotel bar affect different characters differently, and why do you think Bloom finds it both comforting and painful?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today creating separate 'compartments' for different parts of their lives - like having a work personality versus a home personality?
application • medium - 4
When someone you know is going through a difficult time but putting on a brave face in public, how do you decide whether to respect their privacy or reach out?
application • deep - 5
What does Bloom's ability to function normally while his personal life falls apart teach us about human resilience and the cost of emotional survival?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Compartments
Draw a simple map of the different 'versions' of yourself you present in different settings - work, family, social media, close friends, strangers. For each version, write 2-3 words describing how you act or what you emphasize. Then identify which parts of your authentic self get hidden in each compartment and why.
Consider:
- •Notice which compartments feel most natural versus which require the most energy to maintain
- •Consider whether your compartments protect you or isolate you from genuine connection
- •Think about what would happen if the walls between compartments became more permeable
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when your different 'compartments' collided - like when work colleagues met your family, or when a personal crisis affected your professional performance. How did you handle it, and what did you learn about yourself?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 12: The Cyclops: Nationalism and Prejudice Collide
Bloom's afternoon continues as he encounters a more aggressive and politically charged atmosphere. The narrative voice shifts dramatically, becoming more satirical and confrontational as Irish nationalism and anti-Semitism collide in a Dublin pub.
