In this paper, The Corpus Hermeticum and the various Gnostic manuscripts such as the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus L3525, the Berlin Codex 8502, the Bruce Codex and the Askew Codex are identified as the main sources that provide the conceptual framework of Joyce’s structural and mythic ‘odyssey’, as embodied in the seemingly meaningless meanderings of Leopold Bloom. Thus, June 16, 1904, represents a chronological chart in which the progressions of the protagonist, both real and imagined, follow the same path that distinguishes both Hermetic and Gnostic spiritual enlightenment as brought about by a father-son dialectic. The final result, in both novel and mystical sources is the same. Each, in their own idiosyncratic manner, assert the macrocosmic in the microcosmic, that is, the ‘godhood of the self’.
Escaping History: Gnostic and Hermetic Trajectories in Joyce's Ulysses
DE MARCO, Nicola
2010-01-01
Abstract
In this paper, The Corpus Hermeticum and the various Gnostic manuscripts such as the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus L3525, the Berlin Codex 8502, the Bruce Codex and the Askew Codex are identified as the main sources that provide the conceptual framework of Joyce’s structural and mythic ‘odyssey’, as embodied in the seemingly meaningless meanderings of Leopold Bloom. Thus, June 16, 1904, represents a chronological chart in which the progressions of the protagonist, both real and imagined, follow the same path that distinguishes both Hermetic and Gnostic spiritual enlightenment as brought about by a father-son dialectic. The final result, in both novel and mystical sources is the same. Each, in their own idiosyncratic manner, assert the macrocosmic in the microcosmic, that is, the ‘godhood of the self’.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
