Nausicaa

In the Odyssey Odysseus finds himself stranded and naked on a beach in a strange country; with winning words he appeals to a young princess who happens to be doing her laundry, and she brings him to her parents' house. Bloom too is walking on the beach, and he has an encounter of sorts as well.

There is something a bit cruel about this episode; we meet the beautiful Gerty MacDowell, but there is a deep disconnect between tone and actuality. The writing style in the first half—the half seen through Gerty's eyes—is romantic and syrupy-sweet, with Gerty as the plucky young heroine of refined taste, good character and sincere heart. However, if we read between the lines, we see someone who is somewhat peevish and petty, strangely superstitious, and painfully self-deluded. We also see Bloom in a very undignified moment, to say the least, though it is a sort of magical moment as well.

One interesting thing that I noticed—though again I don't quite know what to make of it—is that during all the carryings-on there are interpolations of a mass being held in a nearby church for a temperance retreat. Why? Is this more cutting irony, the sad reality in place of Gerty's dreams of a wedding? Or is it another echo of the general theme of young women, these pleas for the intercession of the virgin? Perhaps the latter, for that kind of mixing of the human and the divine is typical of the novel.