Ulysses - Past, Present and Future
The largest car ferry in the world, Ulysses sails between
Dublin Port and Holyhead and was named in honour of the
book that immortalised the life of Dublin on 16 June 1904.
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Image
of James Joyce from a sculpture by C.
P. Breen specially
commissioned for Ulysses |
Written by James Joyce over a period of seven years in
various European locations, Ulysses was inspired by the
Greek myth of Odysseus. Joyce updated the character of
Odysseus or "Ulysses", transforming him into
Leopold Bloom, an advertising salesman who lived with his
wife Molly in Eccles Street, Dublin.
Unlike Odysseus journey
which lasted many years, Bloom is documented for just
one day, with the incidents he and the books other characters
experience being told in a swirl of contrasting styles
layered with different meaning.
An incredibly rich and challenging book, Ulysses was condemned
by some after its publication in 1922 for its frank willingness
to examine its characters` lives and thoughts in detail.
Ireland`s Nobel Prize winning WB Yeats at first described
it as "A mad book" but very soon afterwards retracted
his opinion claiming that "I have made a terrible
mistake".
Others` objections also appeared narrow-minded
in the light of the book's merit and Ulysses was quickly
acclaimed as one of the twentieth century's most important
literary achievements. If you'd like to try reading it
for yourself, you can pick up a copy on-board in the
Grafton Shopping Arcade.
Despite
the fact that Dublin is so closely examined in Ulysses,
Joyce himself never lived permanently in the city
after 1905 but remained in close contact via friends
and family.
Following the literary success of Ulysses,
Joyce eventually followed it with an even more
ambitious work, Finnegan`s Wake, a preview
of which led Ezra Pound to say that "…I make nothing
of it whatever".
On a more down to earth note,
one of Joyce`s oldest acquaintances, Oliver St.
John Gogarty (Buck Mulligan in Ulysses) described
it as "most
colossal leg pull in literature".
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Grafton Street, Dublin 1904
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Joyce
was far ahead of his time. And for that reason, naming
the world`s most advanced car ferry operating from the
city in which his most acclaimed work is set, seems entirely
appropriate.
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