Graduate Student Prize: Fall 2009 Winner, Amanda Lagoe!
This space is provided for Graduate Student Prize winning papers. It is updated after each conference. Please see below for the fall 2009 Graduate Student Prize winner, Amanda Lagoe. Amanda was an Honorable Mention in the fall 2007 and 2008 GSP competitions. Congratulations on taking First Prize, Amanda!
Interested in submitting work for the Graduate Student Prize? The deadline for the fall 2010 conference at St. John Fisher (Rochester) is October 1st. Please email your completed paper of NO MORE than 8 double-spaced pages to Rebecca Housel: housereb@rochester.rr.com
And now, to our featured essay:
The Relationship Between Masochism and Voyeurism in James Joyce’s Ulysses
James Joyce has made it impossible to ignore the presence of masochism in Ulysses. While Leopold Bloom’s masochistic traits are alluded to earlier in the novel, the image of a submissive Bloom participating in bondage and fetish acts leaves no doubt about Bloom’s innermost desires. In fact, Bloom participates in virtually all the elements of classic sexual masochism: secret encounters with dominating women, flagellation, bondage, fetishized clothing, foot worship, verbal abuse, sexual humiliation, forced cross-dressing, and, of course, his self-induced cuckoldry. Joyce scholars have continually returned to Bloom’s sexual proclivities for a variety of reasons, such as locating the inspiration for its presence in the text, examining the relationship between Joyce’s erotic letters and the text, and applying gender and sexuality studies. While current scholarship addressing Bloom’s masochism generally focuses specifically on the “Circe” episode, it has consistently ignored an important manifestation of Bloom’s masochism that is first revealed in “Calypso.” Bloom practices voyeurism throughout Ulysses. While voyeurism is a fetish act, it is rarely referenced in relation to masochism, and Joyce scholars, to my knowledge, have yet to link the two. For Bloom, voyeurism is a means to sexual fulfillment and punishment. His earlier voyeurism is a direct manifestation of his masochistic tendencies and offers a better glimpse at the inner mind of Leopold Bloom than the variety of erotic depictions revealed in “Circe.”
Sigmund Freud explains that masochism “originates from sadism which has been turned round and directed upon the self. . . . The transformation of sadism into masochism appears to be due to the influence of guilt concerned in the act of repression” (“A Child” 189). Overcome with feelings of guilt, the masochist self-inflicts punishment through sexual means, be it physically or mentally. Masochists whose fantasies reveal some form of guilt are believed to suffer from moral masochism. The moral masochist believes that he has committed some crime and must undergo repeated pain and torture as punishment (“Economics” 259). Freud explains that while any other masochist would require the punishment to come from a loved one, the moral masochist does not care who or what provides the punishment as long as some sort of punishment is given (262).
Leopold Bloom is a moral masochist. Throughout his day, Bloom’s thoughts consistently return to his dead son Rudy, and his thoughts reflect the great sense of guilt he feels in his son’s death. In “Sirens” he reveals, “Last of my race. . . . Well, my fault perhaps. No son. Rudy. Too late now” (11.1066-67). His views himself as impotent; he was able to father a daughter, but he was unable to father a living son, an heir. He failed his son as a father, failed Molly as a husband, and failed himself as a man. Bloom reveals, “Could never like it again after Rudy” (8.610). His guilt consumes him to such an extent that he can no longer have sexual intercourse with his wife and has refrained from doing so for “10 years, 5 months and 18 days” (17.2282). As a result of his guilt, the only sexual release he allows himself to partake in is masturbation, for as Bloom says, “you have to get rid of it someway” (13.853). Even though Bloom could easily have a physical affair with Martha Clifford like Molly does with Blazes Boylan, he refrains from doing so and watches women as they move around Dublin. Instead of risking another pregnancy, Bloom does not approach women, but he is able to observe them and become aroused, as seen in “Nausicaa” with Gerty MacDowell. As a moral masochist, Bloom is punishing himself through only achieving release via masturbation and without any direct or intimate contact with a woman.
Voyeurism becomes the primary form of self-punishment for Bloom because he is constantly faced with temptation, but never allowed to physically obtain it. According to Theodor Reik, in Masochism in Modern Man, normal sexual pleasure is based upon tension and the desire to relieve it, while masochistic sexual pleasure is based upon suspense. The idea is to draw the pleasure out for as long as possible in order to build the feeling of suspense, rather than seek a release (59-60). This is what voyeurism provides for Bloom. He is able to be aroused repeatedly throughout the day in Dublin as he watches women, and the suspense literally climaxes as he observes Gerty in “Nausicaa.”
Bloom’s early-morning voyeurism begins with the woman he spots at the butcher shop. While he is only admiring the woman ahead of him in line, his first reaction is to want “to catch up and walk behind her if she went slowly, behind her moving hams. Pleasant to see first thing in the morning” (4.171-72). Even though this is fairly innocent, it begins a repeated pattern throughout the day, and his thoughts become increasingly sexual. While speaking with M’Coy in “Lotus Eaters,” his thoughts turn toward the wealthy woman across the street as she gets into her carriage, and he hopes to catch a glimpse of her stockings as she lifts her skirt: “Watch! Watch! Silk flash rich stockings white. Watch!” (5.130). Just as with the woman in the previous episode, Bloom is unable to see what he desires to see as a tramcar interrupts his view: “Lost it. Paradise and peri. Always happening like that. The very moment. Girl in Eustace street hallway Monday was it settling her garter. Her friend covering the display of. . . . Well, what are you gaping at?” (5.132-35). The repeated interruptions momentarily block his arousal so that his state of arousal is suspended. The sexual nature of his thoughts corresponds to the progression of his arousal throughout the day, and culminates with his viewing of Gerty.
While the argument could be made that the “Nausicaa” episode cannot function as an example of voyeurism, because both Gerty and Bloom are aware that the other is watching, Gerty’s feigned innocence allows Bloom to continue to act as a voyeur. Katherine Mullin’s argument connecting “Nausicaa” to mutoscope pictures indicates that Joyce, in writing in a mutoscope picture style, actually creates the scene as a situation of voyeurism. According to Mullin, mutoscope pictures often depicted the “peeping tom” who caught women by surprise, but who were, in a sense, consciously aware of it when they looked directly into the camera (156). Therefore, based on Mullin’s argument, Gerty, as a mutoscope character or actress, is performing for Bloom in a way that allows him to be a voyeur. Philip Sickler also suggests that “by innocently disguising her intentions, Gerty allows Bloom to maintain a sense of voyeuristic agency, the requisite illusion that he is controlling both the spectacle and the fantasies it engenders. Confined to her rock, Gerty’s exercise of power is subtle and covert” (109). Gerty’s desire for exhibitionism and Bloom’s need for voyeurism becomes mutually beneficial.
Bloom comes as close to sexual intercourse as he possibly can throughout the novel while watching Gerty. While reclining, Gerty spots Bloom watching her, and she knows that his looking is not innocent in nature: “Yes, it was her he was looking at, and there was meaning in his look. His eyes burned into her as though they would search her through and through, read her very soul. . . . He was looking up so intently, so still” (13.411-13, 423). As he watches her, he first sees the “bright steel buckles of her shoes” and a glimpse of her stockings as she “lifted her skirt just a little” (13.361-62). Rather than be disgusted, Gerty reveals more of herself to Bloom as “she leaned back far to look up where the fireworks were and she caught her knee in her hands so as not to fall back looking up and . . . revealed all her graceful beautifully shaped legs” (13.695-98). As stockings are one of Bloom’s fetishes, the sight of them, as has been seen earlier in the text, arouses him, and continues to arouse him as she begins to reveal more of what is hidden beneath her skirt. Considering his lack of sexual release throughout the day despite his repeated excitement, it is not surprising that his initial depiction suggests that he has been masturbating: “she could see him take his hand out of his pocket, getting nervous, and beginning to play with his watch chain, . . . [she] could see he had enormous control of himself” and later “His hands and face were working and a tremor went over her” (13.537-40, 694). His comment after he ejaculates and Gerty leaves the beach reiterates Reik’s idea about masochistic pleasure patterns and the continual building of suspense: “Damned glad I didn’t do it in the bath this morning over [Martha’s] I will punish you letter. Made up for that tramdriver this mourning. That gouger M’Coy stopping me to say nothing. . . . Thankful for small mercies” (13.786-90). Had he sought release earlier, he would not have achieved the level of satisfaction that comes with his masochistic inclinations. Having finally achieved sexual release through his only means of doing so, Bloom is able to return home to his wife, who has found her own release with Boylan.
Bloom’s moral masochism is further enhanced by the guilt he feels for not providing for his wife’s sexual needs. As a result, he allows her affair with Boylan to continue. As with his thoughts about Rudy, Bloom continually thinks about his wife and Boylan having sexual relations. At times, particularly in the pub scenes, it seems as though much of Dublin knows what Molly is doing and that Bloom has been made a cuckold. This can only add to his shame and guilt, but he allows it to continue as a form of self-punishment, as his punishment then becomes not just being a cuckold, but also receiving the judgment of other Dubliners.
Despite his jealousy of Boylan and his repeated attempts to avoid a confrontation, Bloom is very passive about the situation even though much of Dublin seems to know that he has been made a cuckold. This can be accounted for by the manifestation of moral masochism through voyeurism. While he may not be physically in the room with Molly and Boylan, he does know when everything will be occurring, and in a way is acting as a voyeur. Bloom notices that his “watch stopped at half past four” after his interaction with Gerty and wonders, “Was that just when he, she? O, he did. Into her. She did. Done” (13.848-49). While this reflects his jealousy, it also reflects his role as a voyeur. His ability to be close to the sexual event allows Bloom to
vicariously be with Molly through Boylan. As noted previously, Bloom failed Molly as a husband due to his impotence. His acceptance of Boylan being a stronger and more potent man allows Bloom to further punish himself. This is affirmed in Bloom’s masochistic fantasy in “Circe”:
BOYLAN
You can apply your eye to the keyhole and play with yourself while I just go through her a few times.
BLOOM
Thank you, sir. I will, sir. May I bring two men chums to witness the deed and take a snapshot? . . . Vaseline, sir? Orangeflower. . . ? Lukewarm water. . . ? (15.3788-93)
[. . . .]
BLOOM
(his eyes wildly dilated, clasps himself) Show! Hide! Show! Plough her! More! Shoot! (15. 3815-16)
If this is in fact Bloom’s true desire played out in fantasy, he wants to witness the actual event. By masturbating at the door and looking through the keyhole while cheering Boylan on, Bloom is, in actuality, participating in the sexual event as the spectator. Furthermore, his quick offer of items to Boylan suggests his desire to aid Boylan and Molly’s ability to cuckold him. His request to bring “two men chums” also suggests his desire for an additional form of masochism: he will have an audience to witness his cuckoldry. The mutual acknowledgment of the people involved, and Boylan and Molly’s acceptance of their dominant roles, makes Bloom their submissive partner. If Boylan, as the man Molly is sleeping with, is Bloom’s master, it acts as yet another layer of punishment for his impotency.
Bloom’s repeated inclinations toward voyeurism throughout Ulysses offers a view of his masochistic desires as they relate to his psyche. His voyeurism is not just a sexual fetish; his voyeurism is a means of punishment that he inflicts upon himself in order to alleviate the significant amount of guilt he carries regarding Rudy and Molly. While “Circe” undeniably explores his various sexual fetishes and masochistic desires, its brief depictions are unable to offer insight into Bloom as a man, in quite the same way that the earlier incidents do. In a way, it is Bloom’s moral masochism that makes him a sympathetic character and the “hero” of Ulysses.
Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. “A Child is Being Beaten.” 1919. Sigmund Freud: Collected Papers. Trans. Joan Riviere. Vol. 2. New York: Basic, 1959. 172-201.
---. “‘Civilized’ Sexual Morality and Modern Nervous Illness.” 1908. The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. Trans. James Strachey. Vol. 9. London: Hogarth, 1962. 181-204.
---. “The Economic Problem in Masochism.” 1924. Sigmund Freud: Collected Papers. Trans. Joan Riviere. Vol. 2. New York: Basic, 1959. 255-68.
Joyce, James. Ulysses. 1922. Ed. Hans Walter Gabler. New York: Vintage, 1986.
Mullin, Katherine. James Joyce, Sexuality and Social Purity. New York: Cambridge UP, 2003.
Sicker, Philip. “Unveiling Desire: Pleasure, Power and Masquerade in Joyce’s ‘Nausicaa’ Episode.” Joyce Studies Annual 14 (2003): 92-131.