discussed on "Streets
Broad and Narrow."
"In Dublin's Fair City"
| James Joyce is
discussed on "Streets Broad and Narrow." |
|
Arriving in Dublin was a delightful change from Galway, although I think we were all a bit upset to leave the friendly little town. Dublin is quite the busy city and there was an immense amount to do, learn and see. The literature figure that we examined while in Dublin was James Joyce, and although his name was mentioned and discusses from Pubs to Parks, the best place to take in his importance was at The James Joyce Centre. Below the images of Belvedere College and a home near St. Stephen's Green are examples of the Georgian-style architecture common around Dublin and during Joyce's lifetime. The progressively shortened windows give the front facade an elongated appearance.
 Belvedere College, North Richmond
St. Dublin, Ireland., with its Georgian-Style front design. |
 This house is another example of
the Georgian Style Architecture which can be found throughout
Dublin. |
On Friday May 24th we walked down O'Connell street towards the Joyce Center. Having read Dubliners before the trip it became quite clear what a role that city had in Joyce's life. The Centre itself was home to a dancing teacher that Joyce describes in Ulysses The center is located just down the street from Belvedere College, where James was a student between 1894 and 1896 while the family lived at 17 North Richmond Street. Joyce uses this very school and much of his childhood experiences within the life of his character, Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Before attending Belvedere College James went to The Christian Brothers School, a national school (assumed to be appropriate for the poor and working class.) Joyce's family believed that the Jesuit education he received otherwise was what "can get you a position." As the notes from "Araby" in Dubliners explains. The Joyce Center held a library of books devoted to the life of Joyce and his writing, and surrounding rooms included photographs, room set-ups and information on his life and his life's work.
 Above is a portrait of James Joyce with his
fathers portrait in the background, held in the Kenmare room in the
centre. |
 In one of the Exhibition rooms hangs this
poster, which reads :"What did you do in the Great War?I wrote Ulysses, what did you do?" |
 This photograph holds a recreation of a room
in the apartment of Paul Leon, a friend of Joyce's who lived in Paris. The
Pamphlet put out by the Centre explains that Joyce and Leon would spend
afternoons in this room in the '30s reviewing the work Joyce had done on
Finnegans Wake, trying to make it more difficult. |
Joyce examined all aspects of life within his stories from Politics to Religion, which often coincide in Ireland. Upon meeting my family in Dublin, I rediscovered my religious roots. I have always known that the Irish blood in my family follows the Catholic church rather strictly, but since my immediate family has not continued this practice I have not looked into it very closely. As Mr. Dedalus reacts to non-Jesuit schooling, my family seemed equally skeptical of my Quaker school. Although I do not consider my faith to be of the highest importance in my life, I do consider my education within a Quaker institute to be far superior to the Catholic and public schools in my area. Although my family does not consider ourselves Quaker, I feel a closer relation to the practices of that particular sect of Christianity, than any other, I might even say, as Mr. Dedalus did, "those are the fellow that can get you a position.:"
Touring Dublin with Joyce's Dubliners in mind, was like visiting Sligo after reading Yeats. The stories began to come alive through the days. Sites such as Trinity College, the Bank of Ireland, St. Stephen's Green and Christ's Church hold more meaning now that I recognize them within the context of Dublin.
Below at Trinity College, the class visited the Old Library and were able to see the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells, written in 800 AD, is a manuscript written and illustrated on Vellum, describing the 4 gospels. The Manuscript contains elaborate, painted and embellished illustrations to the stories. On some pages the text itself is surrounded by the decorations. The manuscript was given to Trinity College in the 17th century and it has been on display in the library since 1953. During our visit, photographs were unfortunately prohibited, but we did get to examine the large displays of the books pages. In the back room behind the displays, the Library opens one set of pages for the visitors to examine under glass. The craftsmanship which went into the book making itself was amazing, and we got to watch a video on how the whole process was carried out, from start to finish. Reading some of the Latin, or attempting to put together the sounds, I was able to make out some of the text, and through the language and the art of the pages the Book of Kells is truly a masterpiece of literature, history, religion and craftsmanship.
 Here the class posed in front of the Joyce Statue, I took the picture, so I am not in it, but there is one extra person |
 Above is Trinity College. At the center of a
busy area in Dublin, Trinity seemed like an ideal location for college
students. |
 Looking out of St. Stephen's
Green, which is mentioned throughout many of Joyce's works. To the left of the
picture lies the Mall on Stephens Green. |
 The area inside St. Stephen's green is a lush,
quiet park with a pond in the center. A nice area for relaxing on a lunch
break, as I saw many people doing when we walked through one day. |
As the home of James Joyce and all his mysteries, Dublin offered a wealth of information on his life and his stories. Having lived all over the city during his young and adult life, the whole city supports his history. For me, the connections with A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man were greater than with Dubliners because I studied Portrait for a more extensive and in-depth amount of time. The title of the book is also very relevant to my choice to look at this trip through the eyes of artists, as writers, painters, architects or sculptors. It is clear that the "Fair City" (which must be referring somewhat to the rain which spattered nearly everyday), holds keys to all of Joyce's literary works of art.
Joyce, James & A. Walton Litz, notes. Dubliners, New York: Penguin Books, 1967.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man,New York: Time Incorporated, 1964.