the narratological study of james joyce's 'ulysses

8/9/2019 The Narratological Study of James Joyce's 'Ulysses'

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Universitatea Bucure tiș

Facultatea de Limbi şi Literaturi Străine

Lucrare de licen ǎț

The Narratological Study of James Joyce’s

Ulysses

Zaharia Laura Ana

Profesor coordonator:

Prof. Dr. Bodan tef!nescuȘ

Bucure ti" februarie #$%&ș


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Contents

Introduction'''''''''''''''''''''''''''.&

Part I: Theoretical Concepts

(ha)ter % * +arratolo,. -eneral +otions''''''''''''''''

(ha)ter # * /oland Barthes" 01ntroduction to the Structural Anal,sis of

+arratives2'''''''''''''''''''''''''''...%$

Part II: Narratology Applied to Ulysses

(ha)ter % * 3he Functional La,er. +uclei'''''''''''''''..%4

(ha)ter # * 3he Functional La,er. Leitmotifs''''''''''''''#%

(ha)ter 5 6 3he Action La,er''''''''''''''''''''..#&

(ha)ter 7 * 3he +arration Level. Discourse''''''''''''''...#8

(ha)ter & * 3he +arration La,er. +arrator and time'''''''''''..57

Part III: odernism and Joyce’s Singularity '''''''''''''7#

!i"liography''''''''''''''''''''''''''...78

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1+3/9DU(319+

1t has been said about ames o,ce2s Ulysses that it is 0a landmar; in t


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cauht the interest of critics


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move the )lot further to


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PA/3 1: 39/31(AL (9+(P3S

(ha)ter % * +arratolo,. -eneral +otions.

/econied as one of the reatest theorists to have resha)ed modern literar, criticism"

Barthes defines the term 0narrative2 as follo. 1n Cie;e Bal2s


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com)arison bet


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linuistics6ins)ired narratolo, is the s,nchronic =as o))osed to diachronic> 7 a))roach )ro)osed

b, the S


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(ha)ter # * /oland Barthes" 01ntroduction to the Structural Anal,sis of +arratives2

1n his stud, 01ntroduction to the Structural Anal,sis of +arratives2" /oland Barthes

)ro)oses a structure based on 0la,ers of meanin2" also called la,ers of descri)tion. 3here are" he

states" three such la,ers in ever, narrative: the 0functions2 la,er" the 0actions2 la,er and the

0narration2 la,er. 03o understand a narrative is not merel, to follo< the unfoldin of the stor," it

is also to reconie its construction in 0store,s2" to )roEect the horiontal concatenation of the

narrative 0thread2 on to an im)licitl, vertical a?isI to read =and listen to> a narrative is not merel,

to move from one


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hen loo;ed at from sinle )ers)ective of either onl, distributional or interational

relations" a unit ma, sometimes seem to be devoid of sinificance. 1t ac@uires full meanin onl,


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Functions are not the onl, units


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is the hero of his o. 3odorov )ro)oses a t,)e of anal,sis based on three basic relations

.2 =Barthes %$8>

3he narration la,er is defined b, the conce)t of communication: the )ur)ose of an,

narrative is transmittin a certain messae. 1n linuistic communication" 0Ee2 is the donor of the

narrative" and 0tu2 the receiver. Althouh 0Ee2 is an obliator, )resence and a))arent throuhout

the narration" 0tu2 is felt throuh the 0conative function of communication2 6 a conce)t first

introduced b, structuralist linuist /oman a;obson


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the narration =%st" #nd" and 5rd> there are onl, t


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several sinifieds both horiontall, or distributionall, and verticall, or interationall," across

la,ers.

Distortion and e?)ansion hel) control time and s)ace in a narrative:


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narrative focus" a narratoloical stud, of the . Althouh the


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3his is true for Ulysses )erha)s even more than for an, other novel of its time and man, since.

As Dere; Attride insihtfull, asserts in his Companion to James Joyce"

01n Ulysses" se@uence is less im)ortant than a s,nchronic and s)atial ma))in based on

re)etition: allusions" echoes" s,mbols" and archet,)al )atterns all bein" essentiall," modes of

re)etition that forestall the on


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0(,clo)s2" 0+ausicaa2" 09?en of the Sun2" 0(irce2" 0umaeus2" 01thaca2" and 0Penelo)e2. Further"

b, common consent of the readers" the cha)ters are s)lit into three sections * section %

com)risin of the first three e)isodes" havin Ste)hen Dedalus as narrator and main character is

;no


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from the start" as a Eourne, instead of Eust an ordinar, da, in Dublin * in other


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and catal,sers )resent in the novel. 3he nuclei es)eciall, are eas, to lose siht of in a continuum

of thouhts " Stuart -ilbert asserts. e offers a @uic; s;etch of the nuclei in

Ulysses:

01n the mornin a citien


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(ha)ter # * 3he Functional La,er. Leitmotifs

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e remind the reader that catal,sers are elements of the functional la,er


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3he beinnin of the Eourne, is an om)halos: Cr. Bloom lives at +o. ccles Street" a

re)lica of the isle of 9,ia"

9 Merriam-Webster online dictionary entry or !karma#

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3hese are not the onl, leitmotifs in the novel * a number of s,mbols connected to cultural

identit, such as 1rish or Semitic references ma;e the subEect of dialoues bet


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of Ste)hen2s deceased mother. hichever )ers)ective one decides is more com)atible


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(ha)ter 5 6 3he Action La,er

As mentioned in the introductor, cha)ter to this thesis" narratolo, defines characters as

actants rather than as )s,choloicall, com)le? human fiures. 1n other


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are to terminate our anal,sis


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9f Ste)hen Dedalus" enifer Levine states: 0Ste)hen ma, be cast as 3elemachus" but he

thin;s he is )la,in amlet2. is actions are not those of a son on a des)erate @uest for his

father" but rather @uite the o))osite: havin had no conce)t of . -oin bac; to our narratoloical anal,sis" /oland Barthes


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absence" reachin the desire to leave on a Eourne, to brin him bac; and end the ridiculous

battles over Penelo)e2s heart. is ordeal starts


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(ha)ter 7 * 3he +arration Level. Discourse.

0ith no first6ste) narrative uideline such as the Odyssey to follo


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and


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conventionalit, of lanuae2 =Attrie %#8>I the second" that he has the obliation to transcribe it

as is.

e are not to foret the most im)ortant as)ect of the novel from the )oint of vie< of

discourse: the use of stream6of6consciousness techni@ue. Literar, critic Laurent Cilesi is of the

o)inion that 0the mind has its o

3he effect o,ce achieves is double: on the one hand" there is a better" more thorouh

understandin of the difference bet


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)erfected sentence" before s,nta? . 0/eaders ma, not even notice the shift as shift and adEust

automaticall,. 1n our o%%. 1n

order to a))eal to this theor, 2" 0(al,)so2s techni@ue is

0+arrative=mature>2" 0Lotus6aters2 is described sim)l, throuh the


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connected b, the stream of consciousness 3he cit, becomes much more

than the settin for Ul,sses2 action" it becomes a character in itself.

0o,ce ma, not even ;no< he


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(ha)ter & * 3he +arration La,er. +arrator and time.

e remind the reader of this short )a)er that in terms of narratoloical theor, the

narration la,er is not onl, use of lanuae )er se" but ho< said lanuae aids in the )rocess of

communicatin a messae to the reader and ho< it hel)s structure the functions of the novel. 1n

that res)ect"


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on him ever, Saturda, almost.2 3he standard form of this sentence should have been 0e =the

husband> is settin u) house for her time after time and she =the is )a itself is mostl,

never )resent *


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is not Bloom" or rather his thouhts are shared in a full" coherent sentence as if related to the

reader b, a third )erson narrator.

3hese sliht shifts in narrative )ers)ective are )resent throuhout the novel" from Bloom

to Ste)hen to Coll, and to a fourth narrator


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is unidentifiable " a voice


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-houlT (he. 9nce aain" 0Aeolus2 is seen as a landmar; dividin the first t


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0Ah.

is hand fell again to his side.

+ever ;no< an,thin about it. aste of time. -asballs s)innin about" crossin each other"

)assin. Same old dindon al. hile most cha)ters

have as main focalier one of the t


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throuhout the novel" moldin itself into st,les and assimilatin different techni@ues. 1t 0has been

)la,in " the critic underlines" and oes on in his

assessment: 0e should loo; at the 0+ameless 9ne2 as the narrator itself" dressed in one of his

uises" or ventrilo@uisin throuh this )u))et2 =%%>.

Lisette Ba;;er arues that if


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Ulysses revolves around a central nucleus and even more e?treme are the hallucinations in 0(irce2"


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of a))aritions are framed bet


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orders2 =/ead %87>. 3.S. liot arued that it 0made the modern . 9thers" ho. Nears after its

)ublishin and the contestation of its censorshi) .

Ulysses


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and rules


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fundamentall, different" and in her criti@ue of ames o,ce *


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)s,cholo, of


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9n the other hand" the trail of events is not so innovative or biarre. As 1 have )reviousl, stated"

the )ur)ose of modernist


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thin;s" )erha)s rihtl," that o,ce is less soI that he is at an, rate less racileI and one considers

ho< e?cellentl, both ames and Proust 0conve, their atmos)here2I ,et the atmos)here of the

-ert,6+ausi;a e)isode


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Alternatin the focus from one character to the other and then steadil, movin the

reader2s attention from characters to lanuae" aainst the universal e?)ectation for continuit,

and denouement is


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B1BL19-/APN

#$ %eneral sur&eys' literary histories' "road area or thematic studies

Attride" Dere;. The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce. 1nd ed. (ambride: (ambride

Universit, Press" #$$7.

-ifford" Don and /obert . Seidman. "otes for James Joyce’s Ulysses. #nd ed. (alifornia:

Universit, of (alifornia Press" %8H8.

-ilbert" Stuart. James Joyce’s Ulysses. A Study. +e< Nor;: Mintae Boo;s" %8&&.

Caud" llman. 3he "ets of !odernism. enry James, %irginia &oolf, James Joyce, and

Sigmund (reud . (ambride Universit, Press" #$%$.

Parsons" Deborah. Theorists of the !odernist "o#el. James Joyce, Dorothy $ichardson, %irginia

&oolf. 9?ford: /outlede" #$$

Sam)son" -eore. 3he Concise istory of +nglish iterature. (ambride: (ambride Universit,

Press" %8$.

3indall" illiam Nor;. A $eader’s 2uide to James Joyce. +e< Nor;: 3he +oonda, Press" %8&8.

($ onographs' "iographies' author studies

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Faranoli" +icholas A. and Cichae; Patric; -illes)ie. Critical Companion to James Joyce. A

iterary $eference to is ife and &or). +e< Nor;: 1nfobase Publishin" #$$4.

Pound" ra and ames o,ce. The etters of +3ra 0ound to James Joyce, /ith 0ound’s +ssays

on Joyce. d. Forrest /ead. +e< Nor;: +e< Directions Boo;s" G

atts" (edric. 1ntroduction. Ulysses. B, ames o,ce. ertfordshire: ords


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the narratological study of james joyce's 'ulysses

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