what are the odds?
Eça de Queiroz's short story "José Matias" contains the phrase "introibo ad altare dei" and a mention of St. John Chrysostom. The story is about a man who loves from afar a woman (who also loves him):
"He reigned supreme in Elisa's immortal soul; what did it matter if another possessed her mortal body? But no, the poor man suffered terrible anguish and to shake off the pain of these torments, he, who had always been so serene and mildmannered, was seized by a terrible restlessness."
The man watches as the woman he loves becomes a widow, remarries, then finally takes a lover.
This echoes Bloom and Molly's complex feelings for each other. I never thought of paralysis before in connection with Bloom and Molly, but maybe that's the best way to describe their emotional situation.
"He reigned supreme in Elisa's immortal soul; what did it matter if another possessed her mortal body? But no, the poor man suffered terrible anguish and to shake off the pain of these torments, he, who had always been so serene and mildmannered, was seized by a terrible restlessness."
The man watches as the woman he loves becomes a widow, remarries, then finally takes a lover.
This echoes Bloom and Molly's complex feelings for each other. I never thought of paralysis before in connection with Bloom and Molly, but maybe that's the best way to describe their emotional situation.
posted by Robert Frumkin at 8:09 AM
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