Finally ... Ithaca

The "Ithaca" chapter contains the emotional reunion of "father" (Bloom/Odysseus) and "son" (Stephen/Telemachus), and their slaying of the suitors of Molly/Penelope. Stylistically, as a counterpoint to what has been one of the most internal and subjective novels ever written, Joyce presents us in “Ithaca” with a chapter of sheer objectivity, driving the narrative via a series of pseudoscientific questions and answers, effectively rendering this scene of great warmth and communion (Stephen & Bloom sipping cocoa, followed by Bloom crawling into bed with Molly) in terms of cold, scientific, factual information, in a skeletal style completely stripped of artifice and sentiment. Additionally, by the end of the chapter, Bloom and Stephen, two of the most developed characters in literature, have ceased to be particular, and have become, quite literally, universal (that is, two among the innumerable celestial bodies). However, despite the almost dehumanizing style of the chapter, what radiates throughout, miraculously, is the utter humanity of the characters. I personally find this chapter to be among the funniest and most emotionally wrenching of a funny, emotionally wrenching novel.

After Stephen departs, presumably to begin his artistic journey as creator/artist, Bloom joins Molly in bed, quite conscious of the clear evidence that she has committed adultery. However, unlike the heroism of Odysseus/Ulysses, who proceeds to slaughter the many suitors of his faithful wife Penelope, Bloom triumphs heroically by slaying jealousy itself; that is, he reacts with acceptance and generosity, largely by placing himself and his situation in a much greater universal/cosmic perspective. Recall Bloom's words to the Citizen: "Force, hatred, history, all that. That's not life for men and women, insult and hatred. And everybody knows that it's the very opposite of that that is really life .... Love" (333). In the wake of WWI, this becomes Joyce's model for the 20th Century Hero.