Second Sweny’s Visit

1 November, 2018

Sweny’s Round Two

It’s only been a few months, but I’ve already started to think in day/month/year format. This makes it especially confusing when filling out important government forms (i.e. my absentee ballot).

General Observations

They remembered my name! I thought that was odd, considering I missed last week. The mood was odd. Subdued.

Joyce and (serious) Joyce tourism seem to be very much an all-male space. This was probably colored by the chapter we were reading (Oxen of the Sun, a chapter that revolves around demeaning representations of women). There was only one woman there when I walked in (I think she works there). One other woman, who appeared to be a regular, arrived late and left before we had finished.

Answering Research Questions

1. Joyce as a religious figure
   1. Difficult to see that here.
   2. Paintings had moved a bit, and the focus was on the literature not on Joyce himself.
   3. Of course there’s a ton of iconography, but I’m getting the sense that’s more to draw the tourists in (they’ll recognize Joyce’s face before “Ulysses”).
2. Lenses and spheres of influence
   1. Foreign interest
      1. Many Irishmen (emphasis on men) present.
      2. One woman’s accent was not Irish.
      3. German tourists were in the pharmacy as I walked in.
   2. Discussion
      1. Focused on what we liked/didn’t like about the chapter.
      2. Actually had a funny conversation before reading about the Latin Mass and Notre Dame (Indiana).
         1. Apparently there’s one church in Dublin where it’s still said.
         2. One of the visitor’s cousins works at Notre Dame. Small world.
      3. Definitely focused on the literature
         1. Less talk of what Joyce wanted, and more of what they thought about the literature
3. Appropriation and use of image
   1. Less use here
      1. The shop is less kitschy than last time
      2. No Italian tourists with guitars and singing groups this time 🙂

Conclusions

I still haven’t felt comfortable enough to join people afterwards at the pub. I think it’s because I’m in a space that is not my own. Joyce seems to be the domain of middle-aged middle-class Irish men. I am not part of that demographic, which is probably why I don’t feel entirely comfortable yet.

The reading group is accomplishing its purpose: to be an elite club for people who read and understand Joyce. However, it’s an interesting observation that it’s overwhelmingly a middle-aged male space. I expected many Dubliners/Irishmen to be there, but more women for some reason. I think that’s because I see literature as being a “feminine” subject (which it’s not). Although the more I think about it, all the research I’ve read on Joyce has been written by male authors. Hmm. Food for thought.