Given what I learned in a little research last week about why Ulysses was banned, and that this week I was going to be reading that episode, episode 13, Nausicaa, I expected fireworks. I got fireworks. Really, there are fireworks that go off at a particular moment. You know the moment, the one where in old movies when the couple is kissing they cut away to ocean waves, waterfalls, rockets, and um, fireworks.
One expects that if a book is tried for obscenity that there would be something obscene in it. But honestly, a 22-year-old girl woman showing some thigh and Bloom playing pocket pool until the fireworks go off, well, it isn’t very shocking. Illicitly reading the first chapter of Judy Blume’s Wifey when you’re 12 and your mom is away at the grocery store and might be home any minute is more shocking as are many books since then. Different time, different values, right?
So most of the chapter is told from the point of view of Gerty, the girl who shows some thigh. She is sitting on some rocks at the beach with a couple of girlfriends and down the way a little sits Bloom. Gerty is a pretty girl and dressed up special in hopes that the boy she likes would see her. But she caught Bloom’s eye instead. She sees him looking at her and they carry on a bit of a flirtation with looks. Gerty gets bold and starts swinging her feet a little so Bloom can see the buckles on her shoes as well as a little ankle.
Gerty starts imagining that Bloom has fallen in love with her and that he will marry her and she will make him a good wife. And on and on her imagination runs, building a life and family with Bloom. Gerty’s friends have no idea what is going on. They are distracted by Cissy’s younger siblings who were brought along and are running around making a general nuisance of themselves.
But finally it is getting late and Cissy, who has noticed Bloom and keeps trying to catch his eye and flirt, runs over to him to ask the time. Bloom, afraid the jig is up, quickly pulls his hands out of his pockets. Cissy has no clue what is going on. When she returns back to her group, Bloom puts his hands back in his pockets and resumes his work.
As Cissy and the other friend are packing up to leave the beach, a few fireworks are shot up. They go running with the children to get a better view but Gerty stays on her rock and Bloom doesn’t budge either. As the fireworks display progresses, so does the display Gerty gives Bloom, lifting her knee so he can see more of her leg and then leaning back, back, back to better view the fireworks of course. Bloom gets a look right up her skirt to her knickers and, queue fireworks finale.
Then we switch from Gerty’s point of view and the rest of the chapter is back with Bloom as he leaves the beach and thinks about Gerty and Molly and Martha (his epistolary affair) and sex and his now sticky shirt that is cold against his stomach, and a few other things.
Oh, and while Gerty and Bloom are on the beach there is a mass being said in the church just up from them, a mass for the blessed Virgin, and they can pretty much hear the whole thing down on the beach. And Gerty’s part of the narrative is a sort of parody, as is her name, of a book called The Lamplighter by Maria Cummins, a sentimental novel published in 1854 that was an immediate bestseller.
Are you hot and bothered? Offended? Me either. I found the chapter to be both funny and sad. The funny is probably not too hard to guess at. The sad, well that would take a whole other blog post so you will just have to read the book for yourself to find out what I mean.
Intriguing. Having never read it myself, I can’t comment exactly, but if someone felt it was being irreverent with the sermon, I could easily see a push for banning occurring. Challenging any group with political clout can result in repercussions (even if the challenge is only perceived by the group itself.)
It does show how far we have come with freedom of expression when we look back at old obscenity trials. When I reread Lady Chatterley’s Lover earlier in the year I found it rather gentle and touching and not particularly obscene. I presume on the whole this is good, although I have never really understood why sex is so censored and violence relatively uncensored. I find the latter so much more disturbing.
Bikkuri, the book was banned because of Bloom masturbating rather than the irrevernce due to the mass happening at the same time. Back in the day the U.S. had obscenity laws and many found this chapter verging on pornographic. The judge in the trial found otherwise, thank goodness. It is more likely today that people would take offense and want to ban the book for religious reasons.
Litlove, thank goodness for that, eh? Bookman and I listened to Lady Chatterly on audio about 20 years ago when we took a road trip. We both liked the book a lot but when it was over we looked at each other and wondered if we had missed something because for the life of us we couldn’t figure out why anyone would think it obscene. I agree with you regarding violence. I think that should be questioned more than sex should.
Just a little bit of ankle and a peek of a thigh? Somehow I’m disappointed. Judy Blume was far more shocking…I agree.
I suppose masturbation while looking at a young girl was more shocking than actually showing some thigh. Perhaps we are to understand that Gerty deliberately posed for Bloom so he could masturbate? Interesting. Thanks for your great summaries.
I can’t explain why, but although I’ve been following your progress, it wasn’t until this chapter that I decided I absolutely must read the book myself.
Danielle, I was a bit disappointed too. I was expecting something really bold and racy and a bit of thigh and a sticky shirt was not it. Still, it was a good chapter for other reasons!
Kathleen, it is not entirely clear whether Gerty knew what Bloom was doing or not. But even if she didn’t know, Bloom’s masturbating on a public beach even though he did it with his pants up, is still worth an “oh my!” Glad you are enjoying the summaries.
Carolyn, it’s a cumulative effect. either that or my posts are starting to wear people down
Hmmm … yeah, not terribly shocking. It seems that people were upset by all that was implied rather than anything actually written directly, although what is implied isn’t that much, by our standards. So funny about the fireworks. I imagine Joyce had a lot of fun writing this scene.
Rebecca, what is really striking is how there are other places in the book where Bloom or someone else blatantly talks about sex but the reason the book was banned was for a scene in which everything was implied and hardly anything was explicit. The fireworks cracked me up. I suspect that you are right about Joyce having fun writing it.