"[H]e daren't show his nose with the Molly Maguires looking for him to let daylight through him for grabbing the holding of an evicted tenant": Ulysses, the cattle economy, and the unwritten agrarian code

Laird, Heather

"[H]e daren't show his nose with the Molly Maguires looking for him to let daylight through him for grabbing the holding of an evicted tenant": Ulysses, the cattle economy, and the unwritten agrarian code

Files

STUDPRNT-SVR02_STF-SOEADH-FIRST-FLOOR-1-78_0578_001.pdf(1.24 MB)

Published Version

Date

2022

Authors

Laird, Heather

Publisher

University of Tulsa

Published Version

https://doi.org/10.1353/jjq.0.0183

Abstract

While considerable scholarly attention has been paid to the many references to official law in James Joyce's writing, allusions to alternative legal concepts and structures in these works have been largely ignored. The essay seeks to address this omission by teasing out the relevance of the unwritten agrarian code to Ulysses, linking it to the novel's broader themes. More specifically, it argues that viewing what is often considered to be a quintessential urban text through this particular rural lens draws our attention to tensions over land and resources at the time of the novel's setting and composition and complicates our understanding of its treatment of colonialism and anti-colonial nationalism, including its critique of both.

Keywords

James Joyce , Ulysses , Unwritten agrarian code , Law and Literature , Beef economy , Colonialism , Anti-colonial nationalism , Leopold Bloom , Land-grabbing

Citation

Laird, H. (2022) '"[H]e daren't show his nose with the Molly Maguires looking for him to let daylight through him for grabbing the holding of an evicted tenant": Ulysses, the cattle economy, and the unwritten agrarian code', James Joyce Quarterly, 59(2), pp. 211-229. https://doi.org/10.1353/jjq.0.0183