Faubourg Saint Patrice - ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

his consciousness throughout the day, thus demonstrating the effect the liturgical
language has on himboth the Latin of the Catholic Church and the Hebrew of his
youth.
When the mass ends, the narrator describes Bloom's departure:
He passed, discreetly buttoning, down the aisle and out through the main
door into the light. He stood a moment unseeing by the cold black
marble bowl while before him and behind two worshippers dipped furtive
hands in the low tide of holy water. (5.456-60)
As Bloom exits the church, he passes "into the light," a stark contrast to the dark
coldness of All Hollows Church. The two worshippers who dip their "furtive hands"
into the "low tide of holy water" bracket Bloom and anxiously reach for the waning
water to bless themselves as they depart the church. Joyce's choice of "furtive" to
describe the worshippers' hands further accentuates the almost desperate religious fervor
displayed by many Dubliners and compliments Bloom's earlier thoughts about the
"spreeish" behavior of Catholics after mass (5.364). Nevertheless, Bloom, described as
"unseeing," is clearly ignorant of the spiritual significance of the ritual, and his rapidly
changing mundane thoughts contrast with the apparent enraptured devotion of the other
worshippers.
Departing All Hollows, Bloom contemplates the efficient organization of the
Church, and his thoughts turn to the power of the confessional: "Confession. Everyone
wants to. Then I will tell you all. Penance. Punish me, please. Great weapon in their
hands. . Women dying to" (5.425-9). The sacrament of Penance arises several times in
Ulysses, and, as predicted by Bloom, is most often associated with female characters and
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