Was T.S. Eliot right about James Joyce?: A Subversive reading of Ulysses

Abstract

The employment of myth among modern writers was highly praised by T.S.Eliot who pointed at James Joyce’s Ulysses as an outstanding example of what he called “the mythical method”. In his famous essay entitled Ulysses, Order and Myth, he not only answered the criticism directed at Joyce but also claimed that myth was the one and the only weapon needed by the modern writers in their battle against chaos and anarchy. However, although defended by Eliot in such fierce attitude, it is a question whether Joyce shared a similar purpose in writing his massive work. In Ulysses, Joyce uses the epic of Odyssey as the backbone of his plot while he clearly refers to the epic characters at the same time. Yet a careful look reveals something beyond Eliot’s comments and understanding for we come across with a parodical approach towards religion, nationalism and the patriarchal order throughout the work, which totally subvert the dominant ideologies and established institutions of Western tradition. Joyce subverts not only myths that are deeply rooted in western mind but also language which he regards as a yoke put around his neck by the colonizer. Furthermore, his characters stand as the symbols of a future world where identities are multiplied and mingled whereas borders and metanarratives are destroyed. As a result, this paper aims to focus on Joyce’s subversive attitude in Ulysses contrary to the conservative and traditionalist expectations of Eliot and on Joyce’s suggestions on the “new man” who he believes is the future of mankind.