Death as compression and decompression. James Joyce and Molly Bloom
A quick glance on James Joyce’s Ulysses , in particular its notorious last chapter which consists of Molly Bloom’s endless, unpunctuated soliloquy, shows that uncontrolled self-reflection repeatedly reminisces death; remarkably often in connection with lovemaking [1] . Not only does Molly Bloom frequently refer to the death of others; for example her youngest son who died as a baby, a tragedy jointly remembered with a lovemaking scene – a scene which ‘embraces’ the burial mention: “ we came together when I was watching the two dogs up in her behind in the middle of the naked street that disheartened me altogether I suppose I oughtnt to have buried him in that little woolly jacket I knitted crying as I was but give it to some poor child but I knew well Id never have another our 1st death too it was we were never the same since O Im not going to think myself into the glooms about that any more I wonder why he wouldnt stay the night”. (my italics, RS) Molly also mentions her