Thursday, March 6, 2008

On Leopold's Posting

Leopold Bloom is not offended at the subtle remarks about his wife, as Stephen is when he is teased by Buck-- We learn that he knows of her infidelity, but he is not offended at that either; he rather takes it as an indication of her intellectual inferiority, seeking an affair with a more intelligent woman. It's intriguing, because Leopold is not an intellect-- he has a minor academic background, but it may have been acquired without any passion or interest, out of the bourgeois habit of acquiring enough education to find a job that does not entail labor. Yet he considers himself more intelligent than his wife, who does not have an academic background. Did Leopold post the listing in the paper out of a sense of inadequacy-- did he seek an intelligent companion with whom he could develop intellectually? Or was it out of self-satisfaction-- did he hope to find someone who might elevate his social status, someone whom he might consider superior to Molly? Leopold seems to be a self-satisfied character; he doesn't acknowledge the disrespect of the other characters-- perhaps he is not even aware of it. Confidence and pleasure seem to distinguish him, at this point in the novel-- I might argue the latter reason.

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