Ulyssesにおける視覚芸術 : 演劇と写真を中心に

Visual Art in Ulysses: Focusing on Plays and Photographs

Iwashita Izumi

英語英文學研究

Hiroshima studies in English language and literature

[ISSN] 02882876

[NCID] AN0002064X

James Joyce strongly associates the play with art as he states in“ Drama and Life.” Also, because of backgrounds in which photographs evolved instead of portraits in Europe in the 19th century, this paper defines plays and photographs as visual art.
In Ulysses (1922), Milly, the daughter of Bloom, works in a photo shop. Visual art such as plays and photographs serves as a clue to explore the inheritance of the genetic trait from Bloom to Milly. Bloom’s deceased father, Rudolf Virag (later changed his name to Rudolph Bloom), saw Leah, the Forsaken, a tragedy of a Jewish woman Leah. As for the study on relationship between Leah and Ulysses, a main point has been focused on Jewish nature because Rudolf is a Jew from Hungary. However, there is a character named Rudolf in Leah, a non-Jewish young man who is in love with Leah. This agreement of the name“ Rudolf” will lead to a key to understand Ulysses.
From Joyce’s writing style thoroughly based on actual events and so on, it is clear that there is a projection of Rudolf in Leah on Rudolf in Ulysses. Both of them emphasize the succession between father and son: Rudolf in Leah marries a Christian woman according to his father’s will in order to maintain Christian bloodline, and Bloom often remembers Rudolf in relation with inheritance from father to son. On the other hand, Bloom’s identity is ambivalent because he isn’t defined as a Jew judged from a Jewish custom, but people regard him as a Jew. That is why he lies that he went to see King Lear instead of Leah presumably because he worries to be seen that he saw Leah in sympathy with a Jewish theme.
Rudolf in Ulysses committed a suicide, but its bloodline is inherited from Bloom to his daughter Milly who is independent at the age of 15 working at a photo shop. Rudy who inherited his grandfather’s name Rudolf lived only 11 days. The keyword“ photograph” also represents an important element in the succession between parents and children. Rudolf’s memory of a daguerreotype atelier in Hungary and “heredity taste” regarding photographs are often emphasized. Milly inheriting Rudolf’s genetic trait appears as a “Photo girl.” Also, the setting that Milly works at the photo shop in Mullingar shows the Irish women’s social advancement at that time.
One of the main themes of Ulysses is the succession from father to son. However, Milly succeeds her father’s bloodline on behalf of deceased Rudy because her occupation is related to photographs. In“ Penelope,” Molly points out that Bloom wanted Milly to learn photographs to succeed Rudolf’s occupation which seems to be relevant to photographs. From Bloom’s side, the inheritance of the genetic trait through the photographs based on the “heredity taste” mentioned above is suggested. Rudolf’s suicide seems to be a planned one to inherit insurance money to Bloom, and it can be said that the motif of inheritance between parents and children is also shown in Rudolf’s mysterious suicide.
Here I would like to mention the common episode of Rudolf in Leah and Rudolf in Ulysses, “an audience with emperor.” Young Bloom heard that Rudolf’s grandfather had an audience with the emperor, and Bloom suggests to establish a branch in each European city for business development. This response of Bloom shows a new way of living in modern Europe, and that Bloom represents a broad perspective towards Europe at a young age. When Bloom imagines to make branch offices in each European city, he may have assumed that the branch of the photo gallery would be expanded to European cities.
From the agreement of name in Leah and Ulysses, one of the main themes of Ulysses can be traced, that is, the inheritance in modern Europe and the birth of the “new European” through visual art. In that case, it is concluded that Milly who inherited the genetic trait from Rudolph is responsible for the inheritance in modern Europe. A new European’s birth and future is shown in the fact that the inheritance of genetic traits from Rudolph to Bloom, and Milly has been done.

jpn

広島大学英文学会

著作権は，執筆者本人と広島大学英文学会に帰属するものとします。

[ISSN] 0288-2876

[NCID] AN0002064X