Exodus

As Bloom leads the way out of his dark house with a candlestick and Stephen follows behind carrying his hat on the tip of his ashplant, the two men seem to be ritually enacting the ancient Hebrews' "exodus" from Egypt, complete with mock "ceremony." The references in this brief passage––not only to the biblical Exodus and Psalms, but also to Jewish Passover services and Christian church rites––collectively imply a filial relationship beween the two men. The impression is strengthened by several echoes of Dante's Purgatorio through which Joyce appears to be suggesting that his protagonists are similar to Virgil and Dante.

John Hunt 2022


The Hebrews moving into the Sinai wilderness, by an unknown artist.
Source: www.myjewishlearning.com.


The Hebrews moving into the Sinai wilderness, by an unknown artist.
Source: www.thenotsoinnocentsabroad.com.


Jewish father reading the Haggadah, fulfilling the commandment to tell the story of the first Passover to his son. Source: free.messianicbible.com.


The Torah opened to the story of the Passover night, in Exodus 12.
Source: free.messianicbible.com.


Gregorian chant of Vulgate Psalms 113 and 114 chanted in tonus peregrinus by Veronica Brandt. Source: www.youtube.com.


Psalm 113 set to the tonus peregrinus, from the Liber usualis Missae et officii pro Dominicis et festis (Rome, 1954). Source: Wikimedia Commons.


The traditional German Magnificat, also sung in Vespers, set to a German variant of the tonus peregrinus. Source: Wikimedia Commons.


Dante and His Poem, 1465 oil on canvas painting by Domenico di Michelino held in the Duomo, Florence. Source: Wikimedia Commons.


Gustave Doré's 1880 illustration of the boat of souls at the base of Purgatory. Source: Wikimedia Commons.


The Light of the World, ca. 1851-56 oil on canvas painting by William Holman Hunt held in the Manchester Art Gallery. Source: Wikimedia Commons.