Chapter 2
WhatparallelcoursesdidBloomandStephenfollowreturning?
StartingunitedbothatnormalwalkingpacefromBeresfordplacetheyfollowedintheordernamedLowerandMiddleGardinerstreetsandMountjoysquare,west:then,atreducedpace,eachbearingleft,Gardiner’splacebyaninadvertenceasfarasthefarthercornerofTemplestreet:then,atreducedpacewithinterruptionsofhalt,bearingright,Templestreet,north,asfarasHardwickeplace.Approaching,disparate,atrelaxedwalkingpacetheycrossedboththecircusbeforeGeorge’schurchdiametrically,thechordinanycirclebeinglessthanthearcwhichitsubtends.
Ofwhatdidtheduumviratedeliberateduringtheiritinerary?
Music,literature,Ireland,Dublin,Paris,friendship,woman,prostitution,diet,theinfluenceofgaslightorthelightofarcandglowlampsonthegrowthofadjoiningparaheliotropictrees,exposedcorporationemergencydustbuckets,theRomancatholicchurch,ecclesiasticalcelibacy,theIrishnation,jesuiteducation,careers,thestudyofmedicine,thepastday,themaleficentinfluenceofthepresabbath,Stephen’scollapse.
DidBloomdiscovercommonfactorsofsimilaritybetweentheirrespectivelikeandunlikereactionstoexperience?
Bothweresensitivetoartisticimpressions,musicalinpreferencetoplasticorpictorial.Bothpreferredacontinentaltoaninsularmanneroflife,acisatlantictoatransatlanticplaceofresidence.Bothinduratedbyearlydomestictrainingandaninheritedtenacityofheterodoxresistanceprofessedtheirdisbeliefinmanyorthodoxreligious,national,socialandethicaldoctrines.