Original Symbols in Episode Four of Ulysses

【Abstract】Ulysses is considered to be the masterpiece of James Joyces literary accomplishments.Many symbols are applied in this novel，of which the implied meanings are obscure but significant.This paper is intended to make a detailed analysis of the original symbols in the fourth episode of Ulysses.

【Key words】Ulysses； Original Symbols； Episode Four

1.Introduction

Ulysses is set in Dublin on the day of June 16，1904 and involves three major characters actions and thoughts through the day，including Leopold Bloom，Molly Bloom and Steven Dedalus.Episode Four is named after Calypso，who is a goddess in The Odyssey.According to this epic，Calypso keeps the fabled Greek hero Odysseus on her island to make him her immortal husband，which is the connection of the name to Ulysses.Odysseus is a captive of Calypso，similarly，Molly holds Bloom captive in their own home.Although Bloom gets the love letter of Boylan concerning the adultery with Molly，he pretends to know nothing about it and escapes from home with a potato talisman instead of the house key.As to the whole episode，several original symbols are significant in resolving the text，such as the bed，the kidney，the house key and so on.

2.Original Symbols in Episode Four

2.1 The Bed.In the episode，Molly stays in bed and keeps Bloom preparing breakfast for her.Here，this bed parallels that of Odysseus and Penelope.To a certain degree，the bed stands for the loyalty between the couple，which is also a symbol in The Odyssey.In the epic，Penelope confirms the identity of his husband by testing the secret of their wedding bed that is only known by her and Odysseus，in other words，by means of sexual intercourse concerning the bed.On the contrary，the bed here in Ulysses serves as an evidence of Mollys betrayal to Bloom.In this bed，she carries on a clandestine love affair with Boylan.The bed is related to Mollys disloyal behavior.

2.2 The House Key.Bloom doesnt take away the house key when he leaves home.His lack of the house key symbolizes the usurpation，which parallels that of The Odyssey.While Odysseus is away from Ithaca，his household is usurped by would-be suitors of his wife；Similarly，Blooms home has been usurped by Blazes Boylan，who comes and goes at will and has sex with Molly in Blooms absence.Blooms house key is useless in locking or unlocking his home as Boylan has already violated his marriage right in the episode.That is to say，Blooms lack of house key symbolizes the usurpation of love and home by Boylan.

2.3 The Special Number “7”.The Blooms address，“7 Eccles Street”，corresponds to Odysseuss seven years of captivity.At the same time，it symbolizes the Resurrection Day in the old testament obeyed by the Jew，according to which the seventh day of the week is the day of resurrection，for Jesus revives on this day.Here the understanding of “seven” is also connected to the Irish resurgence.At that time，the social conditions in Ireland is extremely degraded and depraved with the typical sign that people have no faith，no passion，and even no loyalty.The life of the Bloom family is in fact the epitome of the Irish society.Bloom is weak and wretched，and his wife Molly is profligate and selfish.The whole society is immersed in bad corruption.In the novel，James Joyce uses the special number “7” to cry for the nations resurrection.

2.4 Potato Talisman.In this episode，when Bloom leaves home，he puts a potato into his pocket.The old and shriveled potato indicates Blooms anxieties about his family line.Blooms son died young and，consequently，he only has a daughter to succeed his life.The family line is weak in this sense.However，the reason why Joyce uses potato to symbolize the family line can have something to do with Irish history.In 1845，a mass famine broke out in Ireland due to the potato diseases.Millions of people died in the mass starvation，leaving the Irish people homeless and hopeless.Potato was always the main food of Irish，and its disease led the whole nation fall into great panic.（Kee 2010，p.82） Therefore，in Ireland，the potato symbolizes the family line.Furthermore，the potato has another connection to Ireland：Blooms potato talisman also stands for his frequently overlooked maternal Irish heritage.Bloom is a Jew and his ingrained Jewishness makes him ostracize his awareness that he is also Irish as the Jewish prosecution is common in the society，leaving him fall into deep sense of rootlessness.Therefore，the potato can symbolize Blooms shriveled identification of Jew.

3.Conclusion

In Ulysses，James Joyce applies lots of revolutions in forms，structures，symbols and so on.This paper focuses on the original symbols in the fourth episode of Ulysses and cites several symbolic examples，but far from being enough.For instance，in Mollys bedroom，theres a painting on the wall which is the nymph，who serves as a symbol indicating the Calypso imagery of Molly.Such examples are numerous in Joyces works and wait for more and more exploration and interpretation.

References：

[1]Feng，JM 2005，The Transfigurations of the Characters in Joyces Novels，Foreign Language Press，Beijing.

[2]Joyce，J 1986，Ulysses，Random House，Inc.，New York.

[3]罗伯特·基，爱尔兰史，潘兴明译.上海：东方出版中心，2010.

作者简介：李晨（1993—），女，汉族，河南信阳人，文学硕士，研究方向：英语语言文学。