By Vivian Yuxin Wen /
“The sins of the past” represents one example of the abstract mental sequences that are materialized, transformed into concrete, dramatic characters who assume haunting voices in the “Circe” chapter. While it only appears once, it takes on “a medley of voices” that culminate and expose Bloom’s guilty conscience through a long speech called for by Bello. (Joyce, 438) As Harry Blamires proposes in The New Bloomsday, “the culmination is a confession by Bloom which proves to be literally unspeakable.” (Blamires, 184) It is simply too shameful for Bloom to confront with himself, thus the resort to the device of a third-person revelation. Hence, “the sins of the past” is an image that entails the dual force of suppression and exposure. Coherent with the idea that the physical model serves as the metaphor for Bloom’s subconscious, “the sins of the past,” as Bello remarks, are literally “rising against [Bloom]” from beneath. Here, we unearth the persistent theme of remorse and guilt deeply buried in Bloom’s memories.
The acts portrayed here turn the image of Bloom into “a sexual exhibitionist, the voyeur, and the coprophilist.” Nevertheless, it is important to note that not all charges presented here are “actual history” of Bloom, as many remain as “suppressed inclinations” which are not materialized (Blamires, 184). Yet again, the disorienting account makes it difficult to decipher which parts of “the sins” were actually committed. The long speech begins with the image of “the Black Church” under whose “shadow” Bloom went through “a form of clandestine marriage with at least one woman.” Firstly, “marriage with at least one woman” is a convoluted idea difficult to wrap our head around – it signifies the idea that maybe Bloom committed adultery with other women while it is still a possibility that he stayed faithful to Molly, in which case, he only went through “marriage with one woman.” According to Gifford, “the Black Church” is a specific reference to Church of Ireland built of “black Dublin stone,” located in Mountjoy Street “not far south of Bloom’s home in Eccles Street” – thus a story rested against Bloom’s marriage with Molly. (Gifford, 504) Most interestingly, Gifford further suggests that “legend had it that a person who circled the church three times at midnight would meet the devil” – adding on to the deep-seated guilt and fear experienced by Bloom and reminding us of his lingering by the church in the earlier chapters.
The further reference to “unspeakable messages” “mentally phoned to Miss Dunn” is all the more mysterious, especially considering that “Miss Dunn” sounds like Boylan’s secretary, “Miss Dunne,” who did have a telephone exchange in the chapter “Wandering Rocks.” Perhaps Bloom’s own remorse about his sexual encounters is mixed with his suspicion about Molly’s affair with Boylan, further complicating his painful memories. The ending of “the sins’” speech then portrays Bloom in a crassly licentious and hedonistic scene where he “lies in bed,” accepting “a nauseous fragment of wellused toilet paper” offered by “a nasty harlot,” which is not without self-referential quality, given the very brothel situation presented in “Circe” itself.
The charges are laid, and Bello/Bella is curiously transformed into the voice of justice, sentencing Bloom to perform a series of menial tasks such as making bed to redeem his guilt – only if his guilt is all real and ever redeemable.
Works Cited
Blamires, Harry. The New Bloomsday. (London: Routledge, 1966)
Gifford, Don & Seidmann, Robert. Ulysses Annotated. (Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1988)
Joyce, James. Ulysses: The Corrected Text. Ed. Gabler et al. (New York: Random House, Inc., 1986)