7.Aeolus

A thoroughly frustrating chapter, that puzzled me. Being in Mr. Leopold Bloom’s head is like being at a rummage sale. One can find anything: a spare shoe, a cracked mirror, or even a dead dog lying around –and free-association is not only present in his head but encouraged by Joyce. In the first description of the press office there is a line “They always build one door opposite another for the wind to. Way in. Way out.” (117) This sounds like when god closes a door… In the next line when discussing ‘Our savior’ he says in the next breath “Mary, Martha.” (117) Another linking of Mary (Molly his wife) and Mary (the typist), which continues through the chapter.
Noise is very important component. There is industrial noise- of the machines that recurs, and the odd mention of silence, and the power entailed in each. Both the foreman’s (119) and the typesetter’s (121) actions are described using the word ‘silently.’ Silence holds a weight a power, having been able to silence the noise around them. To be seen + heard is of the utmost importance, Bloom is treated like a woman (Castiglione- The Courtier, ‘To be seen and not heard).
One of the columns that Bloom enjoys in the paper is ‘Country Bumpkin’s queries’ which reflects his character since it is jovial and interested in learning. This focus on learning has been established with all the characters in some respect. Stephen is obviously the most invested in the creative side of learning – the deep understanding of the things he chooses to study. Mulligan is interested in studying so far as medicine is concerned, in a more removed sense- he seems to be more about appearances, skin deep, than a nourishing understanding of anything. Medicine is a profession that is held in high regard, and earns him more respect (even from the milkmaid) than Stephen gets. He also has an interest in learning so far as it can make him money, which is why he is eager to exploit Stephen’s gifts- the fruits of learning.
Something that stood out is Bloom’s “mm” (119) that continues the theme of noise and sound, and echoes Molly’s ‘mn.’ It seems that the noise in this chapter serve as a device to further defeat and overshadow Bloom. Being heard is hard for him for many in this text, but especially Bloom, the odd man out for many reasons, cuckold, Jewish, and not part of a group. His otherness is furthered under the title AND IT WAS THE FEAT OF THE PASSOVER, (122) when he notices that the typesetter reads backwards, Bloom is backwards at times, and the hagadah book is read right to left as well.
The title LOST CAUSES NOBLE MARQUESS MENTIONED appears to be like a key- the theme that all the characters play towards in one way or another:
“-We were always loyal to lost causes, the professor said. Success for us is the death of the intellect and of the imagination. We were never loyal to the successful. We serve them. I teach the blatant Latin language. I speak the tongue of a race the acme of whose mentality is the maxim: Time is money. Material domination. Dominus! Lord! Where is the spirituality? Lord Jesus! Lord Salisbury. A sofa in a westend club. But the Greek! (133)