Episode Thirteen, "Nausicaa, pp.346-381

Based on an episode in "The Odyssey" in which Odysseus in awakend by Princess Nausicaa and her ladies-in-waiting at the mouth of a river, where they are doing the palace laundry (not a very high-class palace, if that is the case), this bit takes place at 8 p.m. on the beach at Sandymount, near a Catholic church where there is a temperance meeting going on. Three young women and their babysitting charges are on the beach, and the lusty Bloom watches them - especially Gert, who looks lovely to him and who knowingly arouses his lust. Bloom's emotional turmoil reaches a natural climax (aided by his own hand), just as a fireworks display bursts forth (obvious symbolism - very Hitchcock), causing the young women and the children to scamper off and leaving Bloom with a damp shirt. He has been obsessing about the probable affair conducted by Boylan and Molly, and he finds that his watch must have stopped at what he presumes is the exact time of the assignation. When Gert walks away, knowing that by revealing her legs and her hair that she has aroused passion in this foreign- and sad-looking man, we see that she is lame, and Bloom says some not so nice things about this. I must say, he is hardly admirable in any way at this point, but there are still 300 pages to go, so he may change in my eyes. Again, I googled "Spark Notes, Ulysses" and followed the action there, before and after reading the actual text. The notes helped to explain the very coy and arch writing style of the beginning of this episode - a parody of popular women's literature of the time. We are meant to see Gert's feverish brain through the lens of this silly language, as she contemplates a Perfect Mate, a Perfect Little Home, a Perfect Marriage, and then, the Stranger. Then, Bloom takes over the narative, and we can follow his thoughts about Molly and Boylan and about the lovely, but lame, Gert. He is a fellow with much free time on his hands, lolling on the beach at 8 p.m. But, I guess that if he did nothing but work, we wouldn't have anything like the minute-by-minute minutae of "Ulysses."