Faubourg Saint Patrice - ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

Soon after Bloom's introduction in the novel, this method is first used by Joyce in
"Lotus Eaters." When composing this episode, Joyce's intent was to reveal those forces
which "narcotize" Dublin. Paralleling the torpor of Odysseus's sailors who consumed the
lotus flower, Bloom's lethargic musings reveal those aspects of Dublin culture which
contribute to its paralysis, the most significant of which, according to Joyce, is religion.
Describing the technique Joyce used in composing this episode, Stuart Gilbert writes:
". . . its texture is infused with a sense of the symbolical, narcotic, religious significance
of the lotus flower" (43). Gilbert's description seems somewhat analogous to Marx's
famous dictum: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless
world, just as it is the spirit of unspiritual conditions. It is the opium of the people"
(175). Conversant with Marxist socialism, Joyce fictionalized this theory in "Lotus
Eaters," and through Bloom--who alludes to Marx later in the day--provides a detailed
description of religion's opiate effect on the churchgoers (12.1804). Through Bloom's
probing but ironically, doctrinally ignorant thoughts, Joyce presents a distant and
unbiased perspective on Catholic rituals and their significance to the practitioners.
Bloom, with his unique perspective and insightfully naive commentary, provides an
analytical portrait of the Dublin churchgoers, the mysterious rituals of the Catholic mass,
and the "narcotic," lotus-like effect of the Eucharist.
As Bloom walks down Cumberland Street, he is drawn to All Hollows Church by
a mysterious, mystical force: "The cold smell of sacred stone called him. He trod the
worn steps, pushed the swingdoor and entered softly by the rere" (5.338-9). By
entering the church from its rear porch rather than the main entrance and passively
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