On the Narrative Style of “Penelope” in Ulysses from an Inter-textual Perspective

Abstract

When commenting on his own masterpiece, Ulysses, James Joyce once said that the value of this novel was its new style. From his preparation for writing this novel in 1907 to its publication in 1922, Joyce spent 15 years working on his different styles for the 18 episodes; therefore, he was confident that this novel would keep scholars busy for several centuries to explore his true meaning. Before reading this novel, readers are prepared for the kaleidoscopic narrative features; however, it still seems to many readers that the narrative style of the last episode of Ulysses, “Penelope”, is abrupt, and the unpunctuated stream of consciousness of Molly without any interruption for more than 60 pages appears to come from nowhere. Actually, Joyce has dropped some clues in the previous episodes to indicate the making of the narrative style of this last episode. This paper aims to analyze the relation of “Penelope” and such episodes as “Proteus” and “Wandering Rocks” from the perspective of intertextuality in the hope of showing that the narrative style of this episode is the result of the evolution of some structurally important episodes.