Chapter 1 Notes

(I am pasting chapter 1 notes as part of the actual post because of my current battle with Google Drive. It looks sloppy, but you might actually have a chance of reading them.)


Chapter 1 Notes

Note: All page numbers refer to the Signet Classics Edition. If you are working with a different text, try to adjust the page numbers accordingly. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Historical Background

Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891) was an Irish political leader who became the first president of the National Land League of Ireland in 1879. He was imprisoned for resisting English laws which reduced Ireland’s autonomy. Although he was exonerated of the charge of extremism in 1890, his reputation was destroyed that same year in a messy divorce scandal involving Kitty O’Shea, the wife of Captain Henry O’Shea. As such, he stands as a symbol both for national pride and the struggle for Irish autonomy, but also for the fallibility and imperfection of man.

The Daedalus Myth

King Minos of Crete receives a magnificently beautiful bull as a gift of Poseidon with the intent that Minos, in return, would sacrifice it to Poseidon. Minos, however, decides that he cannot bear to part with the bull, and as punishment, Poseidon makes Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, fall madly in love with the bull. Pasiphae has Daedalus, the great inventor or artificer, create a “cow suit” from inside which she will be able to “couple” with the bull. This is the first of Daedalus’ great accomplishments. After the union of Pasiphae and the bull, she gives birth to the terrible Minotaur, a violent half-man, half-bull creature. Minos does not have his wife’s terrible offspring slain, but instead asks Daedalus to create the Labyrinth, a maze from which the Minotaur cannot escape. This is the second of his great creations. After Daedalus and his son, Icarus are imprisoned in the Labyrinth as well (some say for helping the hero Theseus to escape; others for knowing dangerous secrets) Daedalus constructs wings for himself and his son to escape the island of Crete by air, thus marking the third of his great creations. Icarus, of course, does not following his father’s warnings and plummets to his death after flying too close to the sun, and Daedalus escapes to the island of Sicily.

Page # Annotation/Observation
19 Hot/Cold Imagery ; smell; introduction to narrative voice; details and information limited to what Stephen understands/knows at given age
20 physical smallness and delicacy
Color Imagery/ Ireland, Pope
“The third line”—Clongowes children under thirteen
“Cachou” Candy and breath freshener
“Prefects” Teachers who work as housemasters and supervise outside activities
“Greaves in his number…refectory.” Shinguards in his locker and a private supply of treats in the dining hall.
“Eyes weak and watering” Recurrent Eye imagery (Pull out his eyes/Apologize, etc.)

21 “Peach on” tell on
“Rector” Administrative head of the college
“Soutane” Black gown with sleeves

22 Eagerness to go home…changing numbers
homicide- connections to the family
Isolation from peers…picked on
“he shivered as if he had cold slimy water next to his skin”- discomfort- later connection
23 Water imagery- cold/hot
“suck” sycophant; one who “sucks up” to a teacher
24 “York/Lancaster” Names of teams; taken from British history and the War of the Roses
“in a wax” in a rage
“first place in elements” English, math, geography, history, Latin
Mind wandering from sums to roses (poetic/sensitive nature of artist)
-Intro to Jack Lawton- competition
Apron, Cold, Damp imagery repeated…trying to make connections in world/perception
25 “It made a roar like a train at night” Use of similes at this age in order to establish connections and meaning of sensory perception.
“The higher line” boys 15-18
-No introduction to characters- appear nonchalantly as they would exist in the mind of the narrator, young Stephen. (Reader must adapt)
26 Wells as bully (no first name given)
Attempts to fit in; changes answer about kissing mother; paradox…will not be accepted regardless of answer
“Hacking chestnut” dried chestnuts were attached to strings and swung against each other. The one that didn’t break was the winner.
Connection back to water imagery; rat

27 Discovers immensity of universe; his location. Same sense of degrees as with ages of parents; begins with himself (center) and proceeds to largest conceivable.
“cod” joke
Understanding of order and structure in writing and poetry “He read the verses backwards, but they were not poetry.”
28 Explanation of location in universe- God’s real name must be God- familiar to Stephan, thoughts understanding different languages and conceptualization
29 Hot/ Cold imagery…shivering that warming up in bed… “lovely”
2nd Paragraph: Repetition of “cold”
“hob” shelf to the back or side of fireplace
31 Activity of mind as he’s in bed waiting for sleep…not relaxing but thinking
“ironingroom” place where armor was formerly stored
“Cars” horse drawn vehicles
32 Casual leap of time to holiday… confusion of temporality as child emphasis on major events. Makes reader assume it is actually happening.
–Dream of returning home, repetition of red/green imagery; parallel to Dante’s ribbons
33 “The minds of rats could not understand trigonometry” –death; absence of life, thought
Brevity of sentences “Their coats dried then. They were only dead things.”
34 “Brother Michael” A man bound to the Jesuit order by vows but not educated as a priest would be; usually assigned housekeeping duties.
35 Simile “like the long neck of a tramhorse”
Mortality “You could die just the same on a sunny day.”
“cope of black and gold” a long vestment in the colors appropriate for a funeral mass
36 “… the day was going on just as if he were there…”
“Your name is like Latin” connection with Daedalus the artificer. Further separation and distinction from peers. Comment by Athy

37 “no noise from the playground” Inability to know what others away from him are doing. Center of his own life parallel writing in book
38 Personification- waves- harbor imagery
Physical break; Home for Christmas
Death of Parnell
39 “boss” a type of hassock or footrest.
“Birthday present for Queen Victoria” Casey was probably picking oakum as hard labor in prison for political activities
40 “jack foxes” male foxes
41 Family-“little brothers and sisters”; Stephen’s gradual incorporation into “adult” family activities
“Ally Dally” the best
“pandybat” a stiff, reinforced leather strap
42 Argument over influence priests should have politically over contingency. Dante = pro influence.
44 “pope’s nose” part of the turkey’s rump
46 Eileen (playmate) is protestant
“Tower of Ivory”/ “House of Gold” epithets for the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Roman Catholic Litany of Our Lady (continues development of feminine ideal and understanding on the part of young Stephen)

47 Link between Eileen “cool white hand” and Virgin Mary
“tig” a game like hide and seek
Metaphorical blinding; eye imagery
48 Blinding imagery
49 Argument continues- worth of priests
“whiteboy” member of a group working for land and tax reform sometimes using terrorist means
50 “tearing away a cobweb”
-sees father crying
*casual shift in time from one significant moment to the next*
51 “fecked” stole
“scut” the tail of a rabbit, here meaning, “turned tail and ran”
“boatbearer” one who carries the container or incense before its lighted”
“censer” vessel in which incense is burned

52 “sprinter” someone training in short distance bicycle races
Continued bulling- broken glasses; Sight, removal of senses
“prof” captain of cricket team
“rounders” British ball game
53 “square” the school latrine or urinal
“smugging” probably a mild sort of homosexual play
Development of sexual identity, gender awareness…immediate connection to Eileen
End of page, “By thinking of things, you could understand them”
54 “Calico Belly” joke on Ceasar’s Comentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic Wars)
“six and eight” number of blows with the strap given for punishment
“prefect of studies” assistant to the rector in charge of academics
56 Concern for humanity- punishment distasteful.
57 “monstrance” vessel of precious metal in which the host is displayed
“But God was not in the course when they stole it…”
“The day of your first communion is the happiest day of your life.”
58 Was it a sin for the father to be mad?
61 Gives into cry after flogging
63 Urged to tell rector- warning not to “peach”
65 Blinding; darkness of corridor
66 “Saint Ignatius Loyola” founder of Society or Jesus (Jesuit Order)
“Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” For the Greater Glory of God (the Jesuit Motto) Students in Jesuit schools might abbreviate the phrase “AMDG” and attach it to their compositions
“swallowed down the thing in his throat”
68 Momentary acceptance of crowd for telling on Father Dolan- perfect
Conmee – Rector at Clongowes
69 “gallnuts” rounded growths on trees caused by insects
“long shies” long hits by the batsman in cricket.
End with simile describing cricket
“like drops of water in a fountain falling softly in the burning bowl.” Connection of simile back to earlier water imagery; rebirth/ purification…etc