The nature of James Joyce

I was happily busy on Bloomsday performing Ulysses, but it meant I had no time to do a proper post about my love of James Joyce. Now that things have calmed down a little, I wanted to share one of my absolute favourite parts of Ulysses, from Penelope, the incredible soliloquy of Molly Bloom:

I’d love to have the whole place swimming in roses

I love flowers I’d love to have the whole place swimming in roses God of heaven there’s nothing like nature the wild mountains then the sea and the waves rushing then the beautiful country with fields of oats and wheat and all kinds of things and all the fine cattle going about that would do your heart good to see rivers and lakes and flowers all sorts of shapes and smells and colours springing up even out of the ditches primroses and violets nature it is

Every time I hear these words, or even better, get to read them aloud, my heart beats just a little bit faster, because I know that we’re in the home run, to that glorious, life-affirming finish:

…and the glorious sunsets…

O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and the pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

Advertisement