Episode: Telemachus
Day 2
Breakfast & Departure
Pages: 11-23 (Gabler)
35-45 minutes
Podcast available
Overview
The Telemachus episode concludes as Stephen, Mulligan, and Haines descend from the tower for breakfast. We follow them to the Forty Foot swimming hole, where Stephen's alienation becomes more pronounced. The episode ends with Stephen surrendering the tower key to Mulligan and heading off to his teaching job, dispossessed and set adrift—a parallel to Telemachus leaving Ithaca in search of his father.
Key Themes
- Dispossession and exile (Stephen giving up the key)
- The sea as 'a great sweet mother'—and Stephen's fear of it
- Class tensions between the educated Irish and their English guests
- The theme of usurpation that will echo throughout the novel
- Stephen's determination to not return to the tower
What's Stirring
What is the significance of Stephen giving Mulligan the key?
How does Joyce use the sea imagery in this section?
Haines represents England in many ways. How does Stephen respond to him?
What parallels do you see between Stephen and Homer's Telemachus?