The Portable James Joyce

James Joyce

On one of my recent trips to the used book store I picked up a copy of The Portable James Joyce, an anthology edited by Harry Levin (First Published 1947). I've been reading Joyce's Dubliners and loving every word of it.

Before I go into my review for Dubliners, I want to make a few notes here about what Mr. Levin says about James Joyce and his writing.

Mr. Levin first points to three themes that are always central to Joyce's writing:

1. Nationality


His fiction is absolutely grounded in the daily rituals of Irish life, Irish places and Irish nationalism are often subjects. James Joyce eventually left Ireland, but Ireland continued to dominate Joyce's works as a locale and a thematic subject throughout his life.

The Ireland of James Joyce often appears in his fiction as a sort of trap. Irish characters are trapped by the specific circumstances of life in Ireland that mirrors the struggle of Ireland for independence from Britain. Even after Irish independence in 1922, Joyce's work still often returned to the theme of nationalism and the course of the Irish nation.

2. Catholicism


Catholicism is a constant theme in Jame's Joyce's works. While his writing often invokes a harsh skepticism of Catholic doctrine, the "intellectual attraction of theology" and the "emotional appeal of ritual" permeate his writing.

3. Language


Mr. Levin argues here that because James Joyce had vision problems, his writing has a particular regard for the sounds of words and how the sounds themselves create meaning.

I will keep these ideas in mind when reviewing Dubliners soon.

Click here to read a post about Stephen Dedalus and Aesthetics

Levin, Harry, ed. The Portable James Joyce. New York: Viking Press, 1947. 1-16. Print.