Calypso

Episode 4 begins a new section of the novel, the Wanderings of Ulysses, marked by a Roman numeral II in print editions. Joyce loosely imitated the structure of Homer's Odyssey, which introduces Telemachus before telling the backstory of Odysseus' adventures after the fall of Troy and concluding with the hero's return to Ithaca. But instead of starting in medias res and then looking back, Joyce started June 16 twice, making Leopold Bloom's first three chapters cover the same period of time that Stephen's have, beginning at 8 AM and ending at noon. He also tinkered with Homer's spatial plan, moving his hero from exile to home. "Calypso" takes place in and around Bloom's house on Eccles Street, but this title suggested by the schemas implies that all is not well at home.

John Hunt 2017

William York Tindall's photograph from the 1950s of the row of townhouses on Eccles Street that includes no. 7 (nearest to the lamppost), looking toward St. George's church. Source: The Joyce Country.

Odysseus and Calypso, 1943 oil on canvas painting by Max Beckmann, held in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg. Source: www.artchive.com.

Odysseus and Calypso, 1883 oil on panel painting by Arnold Böcklin, held in the Kunstmuseum, Basel. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Odysseus, Calypso, and Hermes in a drawing by an unknown artist. Source: ithaka.wikispaces.com.