I included finishing the second half of Ulysses episode 15 (Circe) in my read-a-thon reading. Knowing I had nothing but reading time helped me not worry about how long it took to read 75 pages so I enjoyed the second half much better than the first. Plus, if I thought the hallucinations in the first half were weird, the hallucinations in the second half were weirder.

To recap, Bloom has followed Stephen and friends to a brothel. They are all drunk. But Bloom thinks he needs to keep an eye on Stephen. They are all hanging our with three whores in the “music room” of the whorehouse, flirting, kissing, dancing, talking. The Madame of the establishment shows up and insists that they pay for the three women because even though there might be no sex going on, the group is keeping the girls from working. Stephen pays, too drunk to know he handed over far too much money. Bloom steps in, not as drunk as the rest, and corrects the amount. He also convinces Stephen to give him all of his money for safe keeping. Stephen hands it over. Then they all suddenly decide to leave. I am not sure why. And Stephen runs into a group of drunk military men and their whores, says something to one of the girls that is taken for an insult, and finds himself suddenly being threatened with a beating. Bloom steps in and keeps there from being a big fight but nonetheless, Stephen still manages to get punched in the face and knocked out. Exciting, eh?

The second half of the chapter continues in the same style as the first, written as a sort of play. But it is not like any play I’ve ever read. There are frequent hallucinations, scenes that take place that aren’t really taking place, not even in the character’s head but such interruptions still manage to serve to cast some insight into a character’s – er – character.

What I found most astonishing was one particular hallucination that had Bloom turned into a pig, ala Circe, and taking delight in a bit of masochism. The Madame of the house, Bella, becomes Bello who seems to also be a man. When Bloom becomes a pig, Bella/Bello says:

Feel my entire weight. Bow, bondslave, before the throne of your despot’s glorious heels, so glistening in their proud erectness.

And it is only a few speeches later that Bella/Bello threatens to slaughter Bloom:

Very possibly I shall have you slaughtered and skewered in my stables and enjoy a slice of you with crisp crackling from the baking tin basted and baked like sucking pig with rice and lemon or current sauce. It will hurt you.

Then Bella/Bello dresses Bloom as a whore and turns him into a woman, giving him instructions on how it will be Bloom’s job to take care of all the rest of the women, emptying their chamber pots, doing their laundry, making their beds. But at night Bloom will be expected to work with the rest of the whores:

First, I’ll have a go at your myself. A man I know on the turf names Charles Alberta Marsh (I was in bed with him just now and another gentleman out of the Hanaper and Petty Bag Office) is on the lookout for a maid of all work at a short knock. Swell the bust. Smile. Droop shoulders. What offers? (He points) For that lot trained by owner to fetch and carry, basket in mouth. (He bares his arm and plunges it elbowdeep in Bloom’s vuvva.) There’s fine depth for you! What boys? That give you a hardon? (He shoves his arm in a bidder’s face.) Here, we the deck and wipe it round!

And this is not the chapter that got the book banned! Apparently implicit masturbation and seeing a girl’s underwear are more obscene. Go figure.