The Cyclopean Eye: Charity Bazaars, Cinematicity, and Defamiliarized Vision in Ulysses

Abstract

Abstract: Dublin's themed charity bazaars of the 1890s were a significant influence on Joyce, most obviously as a source of "Araby"'s negative epiphany but more pervasively by showcasing visual science and technology and preparing the ground for cinema. This essay explores some key impacts on Ulysses . "Cyclopia" (1896) was the most scientific and technological. Joyce had a personal stake in its theme given his eyesight problems but also precocious fascination with optics and "cinematicity." "Cyclopia" punned on the objective of producing "one eye hospital" for Dublin through merging institutions. Similarly, the "cyclopean image" denotes binocular vision's merging of images from different eyes into 3-D. "Cyclopia" showcased a giant mechanical model of the eye, amid a spectrum of entertainments defamiliarizing vision, including a giant outdoor magic lantern screen, film projection by "Animatograph," and Ireland's first popular demonstrations of X-rays. "Cyclopia" responded to the mission of Victorian scientists to enlighten the public about vision and its manipulation. Newspaper reports confirm that Dubliners were enthralled by its "Cyclopean Eye"'s camera-like gaze, which also recalled the Odyssey 's one-eyed giant. Similarly, by modernizing Homer's monster in the tropes of Ulysses , Joyce subverted his counterpart's monoptic nationalism by Bloom's more "rounded," stereoscopic vision.