Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses

This paper will look closely at three musical references punctuating Bloom’s day: Michael Balfe’s The Rose of Castile, Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha, and Thomas Moore’s The Last Rose of Summer, from the fifth volume of his Irish Melodies. Its purpose is to illustrate how and to what extent they are...

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Main Author: Lucia Pasini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires du Midi 2024-08-01
Series:Caliban: French Journal of English Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/12552
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author Lucia Pasini
author_facet Lucia Pasini
author_sort Lucia Pasini
collection DOAJ
description This paper will look closely at three musical references punctuating Bloom’s day: Michael Balfe’s The Rose of Castile, Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha, and Thomas Moore’s The Last Rose of Summer, from the fifth volume of his Irish Melodies. Its purpose is to illustrate how and to what extent they are essential to the narrative economy of the work: because they all bear strong geographical connotations, they entail different and contrasting imaginative elements that become closely associated with specific characters and situations and culminate in Molly’s betrayal of her husband in the eleventh episode. A first remarkable element is the association of Molly with the Spanish peninsula, exemplified through her connection with The Rose of Castile, and Martha also plays a comparable role in the development and the characterization of Molly’s infidelity. In addition, the colonial context of Ulysses breathes new and unexpected meanings into matters that are rarely brought to bear in such a framework. It is the case, for example, of the ballad “‘Twas rank and fame”, and The Last Rose of Summer is also subjected to trivialization and satire, broadly aimed against Celtic revivalism.
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spelling doaj-art-7bc4ade8988647518d42bc8a45a9bbf22025-08-20T03:44:39ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiCaliban: French Journal of English Studies2425-62502431-17662024-08-017110.4000/12dmiMetaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s UlyssesLucia PasiniThis paper will look closely at three musical references punctuating Bloom’s day: Michael Balfe’s The Rose of Castile, Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha, and Thomas Moore’s The Last Rose of Summer, from the fifth volume of his Irish Melodies. Its purpose is to illustrate how and to what extent they are essential to the narrative economy of the work: because they all bear strong geographical connotations, they entail different and contrasting imaginative elements that become closely associated with specific characters and situations and culminate in Molly’s betrayal of her husband in the eleventh episode. A first remarkable element is the association of Molly with the Spanish peninsula, exemplified through her connection with The Rose of Castile, and Martha also plays a comparable role in the development and the characterization of Molly’s infidelity. In addition, the colonial context of Ulysses breathes new and unexpected meanings into matters that are rarely brought to bear in such a framework. It is the case, for example, of the ballad “‘Twas rank and fame”, and The Last Rose of Summer is also subjected to trivialization and satire, broadly aimed against Celtic revivalism.https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/12552IrelandmusicSpainUlyssesJoyce
spellingShingle Lucia Pasini
Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses
Caliban: French Journal of English Studies
Ireland
music
Spain
Ulysses
Joyce
title Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses
title_full Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses
title_fullStr Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses
title_full_unstemmed Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses
title_short Metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of James Joyce’s Ulysses
title_sort metaphorical networks and geographical connotations in the musical landscape of james joyce s ulysses
topic Ireland
music
Spain
Ulysses
Joyce
url https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/12552
work_keys_str_mv AT luciapasini metaphoricalnetworksandgeographicalconnotationsinthemusicallandscapeofjamesjoycesulysses