—Asculum, Stephen said, glancing at the name and date in the gorescarred book. James Joyce – Ulysses (Chap. 2 - Nestor)
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The Battle of Asculum was the most famous of Pyrrhus' ‘Pyrrhic victories’. Incidentally, Hannibal had a fight there 70 years later.
‘Gorescarred’ ain’t in the dictionary. Typical Joyce.
PROPOSED SUGGESTION: Gorescarred: the book contains the history of bloody battles; history is scarred by the gore of war.
PROPOSED SUGGESTION: Gifford notes, “Not gore in the sense of thickened blood or to pierce by spear or horn, but in the obsolete sense of dirt, filth, stain,” but certainly, considering the manner of fighting and the abundance of casualties in the Pyrrhic War, the first definition is accurate (and more evocative).
PROPOSED SUGGESTION: Il existe deux traductions françaises (livre zébré de sang & livre balafré de sang); j'en propose deux autres: 1°) la manuel des faits d'horreur 2°) le répertoire des horreurs
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The question refers to Pyrrhus, a 3rd century BC King of Epirus who was sent for by the inhabitants of Tarentum, who were under threat from the Romans. He’s famous for winning, but at such great cost that the phrase ‘Pyrrhic victory’ has come to mean a victory that costs so much it’s no longer worth winning.
“Nestor” starts in mediis rebus: we’re slap bang in the middle of a history lesson, and Joyce uses this chapter in part to give us some of his ideas about history in general, and about the part of individuals in history.
There was a Cochrane’s solicitor’s premises in Dalkey according to Thom’s Directory (G& S page 30).
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This is a complex allusion: in terms of the passage, Bloom is simply saying that having sex in a graveyard would make the dead jealous. However, Joyce is also alluding to the story of Tantalus, who cooked his son up as a meal for the gods. Nice.
His punishment was to eternally reach for apples – hence the word ‘tantalising’ for something we want but which is just out of reach.
In another reference to the Underworld, Joyce is hinting at this chapter’s correspondent passage in the Odyssey. When Odysseus visits Hades, he must sacrifice a ram in order to speak with the dead prophet Tiresias. When he does this, the dead spirits are drawn to the blood and crowd in upon him.
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Falconer’s Railway, Coach, Car and Steam Navigation Guide for Ireland was a … well, it speaks for itself. Bizarrely, it’s still in print.
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i.e. Coffin. Referring to something by its measurements is a form of synecdoche.
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What is this?
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John 11: 43-4:
And when he thus had spoke, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Raising Lazarus from the dead is generally considered one of Jesus' most badass miracles. He later did the same trick with himself. Bloom’s quotation is mocking: a modern-day resurrection is clearly not on the cards.
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