--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ulysses ... is a dogged attempt to cover…" description: "\"Ulysses ... is a dogged attempt to cover the universe with mud, an inverted Victorianism, an attempt to make crossness and dirt succeed where sweetness..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/e-m-forster-1118_character_ulysses-is-a-dogged-attempt-to-cover-the_1322059.png" --- # Ulysses ... is a dogged attempt to cover the universe with… ![“Ulysses ... is a dogged attempt to cover the universe with mud, an inverted Victorianism, an attempt to make crossness and dirt succeed where sweetness and light failed, a simplification of the human character in the interests of Hell.” quote by E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/e-m-forster-1118_character_ulysses-is-a-dogged-attempt-to-cover-the_1322059.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/e-m-forster-1118_character_ulysses-is-a-dogged-attempt-to-cover-the_1322059.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/e-m-forster-1118_character_ulysses-is-a-dogged-attempt-to-cover-the_1322059.png) > “Ulysses ... is a dogged attempt to cover the universe with mud, an inverted Victorianism, an attempt to make crossness and dirt succeed where sweetness and light failed, a simplification of the human character in the interests of Hell.” [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The work attempts to subvert conventional morality, embracing darkness over conventional goodness. **In simple terms:** It challenges idealism with gritty realism. Key Takeaway Question accepted narratives. Themes morality subversion human nature literature Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - literary analysis - philosophical debate - teaching critical thinking Key Concepts existential critique cultural clash Questions to Reflect On - Why do we gravitate toward light? - Can darkness and light coexist in art? A Different Perspective Darkness may oversimplify complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Sweetness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweetness/) [Ulysses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ulysses/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [The novelist, unlike many of his colleagues, makes up a number of word-masses roughly describing himself (roughly: niceties shallcome later), gives them names and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/the-novelist-unlike-many-of-his-colleagues-makes-up-a-number-of-word/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [I don't know how you were diverted You were perverted too. I don't know how you were inverted No one alerted you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-don-t-know-how-you-were-diverted-you-were-perverted-too-i-don-t/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Since nature does not endow all men with equal beauty or equal intelligence, and the faculty of volition leads men to make different choices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/since-nature-does-not-endow-all-men-with-equal-beauty-or-equal/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [ I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what \[political philosopher\] Sheldon Wolin has recently labeled… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-democracy-in-the-united-states/) [Thomas L. 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It is supposed to be in control of the mind. That's the way it was supposed to happen. It got inverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunvalo-melchizedek/remember-the-heart-it-is-supposed-to-be-in-control-of-the-mind-that-s/) [Drunvalo Melchizedek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drunvalo-melchizedek/) > [“At no point during the making of this book have I inverted my penis although I did go to Blackpool which turned out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rudd/at-no-point-during-the-making-of-this-book-have-i-inverted-my-penis/) Matt Rudd > [In the bureaucracy, incentives will forever be inverted. Failure results in success: in more funds, more training, more time off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/in-the-bureaucracy-incentives-will-forever-be-inverted-failure/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [Recognition is powerful, as long as it's authentic and specific. Whatever their level on the inverted pyramid, employees wants to feel needed and valued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-spector/recognition-is-powerful-as-long-as-it-s-authentic-and-specific/) [Robert Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-spector/) ## More by E. M. Forster > [Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/do-not-be-proud-of-your-inconsistency-it-is-a-pity-it-is-a-pity-that/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Reverence is fatal to literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/reverence-is-fatal-to-literature/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/railway-termini-are-our-gates-to-the-glorious-and-the-unknown/) [E. M. 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Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [A critic has no right to the narrowness which is the frequent prerogative of the creative artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/a-critic-has-no-right-to-the-narrowness-which-is-the-frequent/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-to-say-who-possess-umbrellas/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Before the civil war, Pottibakia was a normal member of the Comity of Nations. She erected tariff walls, broke treaties, persecuted minorities, obstructed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/before-the-civil-war-pottibakia-was-a-normal-member-of-the-comity-of/) [E. M. 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They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/we-are-not-concerned-with-the-very-poor-they-are-unthinkable-and-only/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) [Explore all 287 E. M. 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