The Magic of Circe

In The Odyssey, Circe transforms Odysseus's men into swine; possessing a magic plant (moly) given to him by Hermes (Mercury), Odysseus is able to withstand Circe's magic and ultimately free his men from her spell.

Joyce’s 180-page closet drama (that is, a dramatic work meant to be read, rather than performed) embedded in his epic novel contains speaking parts for virtually every character introduced in the book, including inanimate objects such as The Fan and The Soap. Having taken realistic/naturalistic fiction as far as it can go, Joyce now experiments with symbolic/unrealistic fiction. After leaving the maternity ward, Bloom instinctively (perhaps paternally?) follows a very drunk Stephen and his cohorts to a brothel in "Nighttown," Dublin’s red-light district. Appropriately (given the transformational qualities of Circe’s magic) the drama consists of a series of phantasmagoric, even psychedelic images and hallucinations that serve to probe the psychological depths of both Bloom and Stephen, with each character confronting the main source of his neurosis: Bloom his failure as husband to Molly, Stephen his failure as son to his mother. Ultimately, the two characters experience a catharsis, purging them through the emotions of pity and terror. By end of “Circe,” Bloom has regained his manhood, asserting himself by saving Stephen from the whores, his drunken friends, two antagonistic military men, and the police. Finally, this father-son connection is solidified, as Bloom escorts Stephen back to his home at 7 Eccles Street.