James Joyce's 'Ulysses' Character, Molly Bloom, and Iconic Realism

The Character of Molly Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses

I took this photo of actors in Dublin on a June 16th, re-enacting James Joyce's Ulysses.

In James Joyce's Ulysses, he illustrates the semiotic theory of iconic realism through the character, Molly Bloom, placing her in 1904 Dublin, to inform his reading public that there is a need for cultural transformation regarding English Common Law. 

Below is an excerpt from my book on this example of the semiotic theory of iconic realism, pages 93-94. 

Those who have read the final chapter of Ulysses will recognize my added little tribute, which is not in my book. Yes 

 

Yes, James Joyce uses outspoken behavior by Molly to reveal his personal, hopeful desire for Ireland, one that seeks to declare independence from the established English Common law. This law states that ‘a husband was responsible…for the behavior and ‘discipline’ of his wife and had the right, for due cause, to chastise his wife with a stick as thick as the thumb.’^[1] Because Joyce grew up amid this turbulent gender reconfiguration during the late nineteenth century, the residue of the strict, Victorian regulations of female behavior appear within his characterizations. Molly is exotic, born of a British lieutenant and a Spanish Jewess and has a normal childhood, which is highly unlikely, as this type of mixed marriage is not one, which would have survived well in the late nineteenth century. 

 

Yes, she moves to the mainland Ireland, where she meets and marries a man who is Irish-Hungarian. Joyce places Molly’s birthday on the same day as the Virgin Mary’s recognized birth date by the Catholic Church, September 8. However, Molly becomes the antitheses of the Virgin Mary, pure of sin, for she is powerful in her earthly relationships and lacks the spiritual elevation associated with the Blessed Mother. Obviously, no matter how hard he tries, Joyce cannot dissociate himself from the teachings of his Catholic faith. Several times during her soliloquy, Molly references Catholic traditions, such as saying the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer.

 

Yes, Joyce illustrates iconic realism through the character of Molly as a female representative of the defiant nature of an Ireland in the growing industrial age. She embodies the elements of Victorian womanhood: beauty, talent, motherhood, faith, struggle, and even scandal, yet she also explores the social and emotional complexities with which women must deal during this era. Indeed, Joyce’s depiction of iconic Molly Bloom, placed in an iconic Dublin, Ireland of 1904, brings attention to his audience of the need for cultural change. Yes

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^[1] Henke, Suzette and Elain Unkeless (eds), Women in Joyce (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1982). p. 120.

 

James Joyce's 'Ulysses' and Iconic Realism through Cognitive Dissonance

This is an excerpt from a paper presented at the American Conference for Irish Studies, 2022:

The semiotic theory of iconic realism is the placement of a realistic iconic element within a realistic setting in which that element is not usually associated, to bring about the recognition of change that needs to occur in society. Throughout his novel, Ulysses, James Joyce illustrates iconic realism through cognitive dissonance by means of language that contains semantic components directly correlating with his characters and their settings. In turn, the readers interpret those linguistic features according to knowledge of the language and the manner in which the semantic elements align with their personal experience. 

The spirit of Joyce must navigate between what is expected of Leopold Bloom as a Jew and what his Dublin neighbors expect of him as an Irishman. This spirit first reveals itself in the chapter, entitled, "Telémachus" through Stephen Daedalus, as he experiences an internal conflict of his mother’s death, with visions of her appearing to him as did the ghost in Hamlet. This type of cognitive dissonance continues through the Homeric episodes. 

Moreover, Leopold Bloom also experiences personal and religious revelations through each inhaling and expelling of air. One such vivid example is in the chapter, entitled, Aéolus. Here, Joyce uses the heaving air of a pompous society’s fickle response to Bloom’s Jewish culture. In this chapter, we are introduced to various comparisons between Jesus Christ, Stephen Daedalus, and Bloom: their dissonant placements in their individual societies and how each has dealt with these discrepancies. Joyce describes the editor as having a ‘scarlet beaked face,’ a ‘comb of feathery hair’ and a harsh voice, similar to that of a cock crowing, once again referring to the Biblical reference of Peter rejecting Christ on the morning of his crucifixion (Blamires 49). Such reflections illustrate the iconic realism that Joyce incorporates in this novel, as he uses these iconic images within Bloom’s mind, occasionally audibly articulated by Bloom, but mostly present only in his mind, to bring the audience in alignment with the dissonance present in Bloom’s, and Joyce’s, Dublin. Through Bloom’s cognitive experience, the reader understands the ‘cross’ that he must bear. 

Another example of this use of the inhaling and expelling of air exists in the Scylla and Charybdis  chapter with the obnoxious expelling of high verbiage between Stephen Daedalus and the other scholars. Here, once again, Joyce employs the use of linguistic empowerment of those who have against those who have not…or very little. Joyce, through Stephen, refers to those who do not understand the human spirit as the ‘vegetable world.’ He decides to stay firmly planted in the present, “through which all future plunges to the past” (Blamires 77). Here, Joyce unknowingly reveals an interesting foreshadowing of worldly events with which only the current reader can relate, for within 25 years of this writing, the world will revisit Joyce’s own recent past of WWI through the lens of WWII. 

Blamires, Harry, The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide through Ulysses, Routledge, New York: 1997.

James Joyce's 'Ulysses,' Winds of War, and Iconic Realism

Winds photo from Google Images

Inhaling and expelling of air exists in James Joyce's Ulysses chapter, Scylla and Charybdis, with the obnoxious expelling of high verbiage between Stephen Daedalus and the other scholars. Here, Joyce employs the use of linguistic empowerment of those who 'have' against those who 'have not'…or very little. Joyce, through Stephen, refers to those who do not understand the human spirit as the ‘vegetable world.’ He decides to stay firmly planted in the present, “through which all future plunges to the past” (Blamires 77). Here, Joyce reveals an interesting foreshadowing of worldly events with which only the current reader can relate, for within 25 years of this writing, the world will revisit Joyce’s own recent experience with WWI through WWII. 

How does this foreshadowing illustrate iconic realism? Joyce reveals highly intellectual ideas through intelligent characters who have issues communicating with those less intellectual, in other words, those who may view their world with a more common sense approach. Through this juxtaposition, Joyce actually pokes fun at the 'highly educated' as a group of snobs who have trouble relating to the majority of society. This was written between WWI and WWII, and much miscommunication was occurring in the higher echelons of governments worldwide. Joyce breathes his own consciousness through Bloom’s passages through time. He creates his personal ‘winds of war’ as he journeys through the dissonant aspects of his life between the dates, 1918-1920. 

Blamires, Harry, The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide through Ulysses, Routledge, New York: 1997.

Century Mountain Project and Iconic Realism

Huang Xiang and William Rock

Click HERE to see their website

William Rock and Huang Xiang have formed a collaboration that unites iconic figures throughout the centuries with artistic/poetic expression. Their juxtaposition of these creative geniuses in the common public arena brings awareness of cultural coalescence.

However, the audience incorporates and assimilates the information gained from perceiving a work of art, the reader, viewer or listener structures the information in order to create interpretation.

The audience draws from personal nuances to create the parameters of this creative endeavor, basing it upon the artist’s textual, visual, scientific or musical composition. This circuitous relationship between the audience and the artist continues to unfold as the audience adapts its mind-set to the art form.

Iconic Realism and Commercial Use

(Image from Google Images)

A few years ago, I had viewed a TV commercial for a national American bank. The ad began with footage of an adorable, well-fed, happy baby, followed by a series of events that could affect this baby during his/her lifetime, placing the iconic image of innocence juxtaposed with the risks of adult decisions, bringing the audience to the recognition that their savings would earn wonderful dividends if placed in this bank. 

In another commercial, a hybrid automobile is placed in the middle of a lush, wooded glen. Little by little, the writers narrate the environmental benefits of owning this car. Again, the placement of an icon for modern society in the middle of the natural environment makes a statement about the cultural movement for earthly stewardship (as well as the adaptability of that particular car to a variety of terrains).  

However, they never mentioned the cost of maintaining such a vehicle. Hmmm... food for thought in another commercial perhaps...

Indeed, the use of iconic realism is a creative means to sell a product!

The Semiotic Theory of Iconic Realism and Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan), Writer and Patriot

 

Sydney Owenson Morgan and Harp 

(My book cover photo, permission to use photo has been given by the New York Public Library)

My semiotic theory of iconic realism is one I composed whilst researching Sydney Owenson’s national tale, The Wild Irish Girl. This semiotic theory of iconic realism involves any artist’s placement of a realistic, iconic object or person in a unique realistic setting in which this icon does not usually appear, to create a vivid representation of the icon within the designated realistic setting. 

Since both the icon and the realistic setting represent conceptual realism within a given culture which the artist’s rendering represents, this unexpected juxtaposition results in a vital perception. These two unusual entities, positioned by the artist, create awareness in the audience of a need for a change within the culture. 

Sydney Owenson incorporates the field of semiotics, dealing with the meaning of Irish terms and their connections with English interpretations. I had noticed the manner in which she established the iconic images of Ireland and England in realistic settings that were normally not associated with these images. In doing so, she brings to light the needed transformation of legislative and societal interactions between the 19th century English and Irish. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

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'Hellelil and Hildebrand, Meeting on the Turret Stairs' by F. W. Burton and Iconic Realism

Hellelil and Hildebrand, Meeting on the Turret Stairs, 
painting by Frederic William Burton

Frederic William Burton was born in County Clare, Ireland in 1816. In his painting, Hellelil and Hildebrand, Meeting on the Turret Stairs, Burton depicts the medieval Danish ballad of two lovers, Helleilil and Hildebrand, a princess and a soldier, who meet in secret for a final embrace.  Here, Burton illustrates iconic realism in this richly hued watercolor as he places Helleilil in iconic royal blue with her back facing the audience. He links the arm of the soldier, dressed in a foreshadowing red, with that of the princess. Both heads held low, Burton intertwines the two lovers on a turret staircase. We cannot see which way they are moving, almost as if time has been stilled in this embrace. We would normally not see this kind of meeting represented with such vivid hue, but with iconic realism, this blatant use of color brings awareness to the audience of a possible disconnect between the aristocracy and military.