The Sandycove Atlas

The map that James Joyce borrowed?

9 Trieste

The Marks

Trieste, where Joyce and his family spent 10 years, is underlined on Plate 16 Italy. So are many other ports and seaside resorts. At the time the Atlas was published, Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, not an Italian city as it is today.

The Texts

Trieste is mentioned twice in Ulysses. Once in a violent anecdote told by a globetrotting sailor and then in Joyce’s sign-off at the very end of the novel, immediately after the most famous phrase in the whole book.

Eumaeus
Possibly perceiving an expression of dubiosity on their faces the globetrotter went on, adhering to his adventures.

  • And I seen a man killed in Trieste by an Italian chap. Knife in his back. Knife like that.

Whilst speaking he produced a dangerous looking claspknife quite in keeping with his character and held it in the striking position.

  • In a knockingshop it was count of a tryon between two smugglers. Fellow hid behind a door, come up behind him. Like that. Prepare to meet your God, says he. Chuk! It went into his back up to the butt.

His heavy glance drowsily roaming about kind of defied their further questions even should they by any chance want to.

Penelope
then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

Trieste-Zurich-Paris

1914-1921

Discussion

Before they left Ireland, Joyce and Nora had no way of knowing they would end up living in Trieste. They travelled to Zurich for Joyce to take up a position at the Berlitz language school there, which turned out to be bogus. But he was placed in other Berlitz schools (Trieste, Pola) before settling more permanently in Trieste in March 1905. Thus Trieste can only be seen as one of many possible workplaces marked in the Atlas, maybe because they hosted Berlitz schools or similar opportunities. Joyce’s decision to name the city just twice in Ulysses, in totally opposite contexts, is a dry acknowledgement of his debt to it.