Parallax Motif in Ulysses : A Case of Depth-Perception
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | This presentation analyzes James Joyce’s Ulysses through the lens of the concept of Parallax. By exploring its use in the novel, it aims to offer a new perspective on Joyce’s intention to create a literary work that emphasizes, more than anything else, depth-perception in storytelling. The term, simply put, refers to the notion of how an object seems to shift its position depending on which angle you consider it from. In Ulysses, the use of parallactic narrative is apparent, yet its motive remains elusive at best. It emerges as a literary technique deployed by Joyce to first establish the potentiality of narrative dualities in storytelling only to eventually use it to showcase that a deconstruction of narrative opposites/dualities in the coincidentia oppositorum tradition is possible. Echoing Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of the dialogic novel, as well as Deleuze and Guttari’s notion of Rhizome — this paper will investigate the extent to which a parallactic reading of Joyce’s motives in Ulysses is applicable to achieving a depth-perception that might challenge our understanding of storytelling. The phenomenon of parallax will be investigated on two main levels. First, it is assumed that parallax operates as a structural interior motif through which different characters’ cognitive experience is presented. This is particularly relevant in the case of Leopold Bloom’s cognitive wonderings and his ever-shifting desire towards a perspectival reality that goes beyond traditional binaries. Parallax will also be discussed in relation to the significance of the meeting between Stephen and Bloom. This encounter appears to reveal a complex network that operates through a parallactic perspective, aiming to provide a form of depth-perception. This depth-perception not only enhances character development but also reflects Joyce's relativist approach to storytelling. |
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