Favorite Quote by James Joyce
““INELUCTABLE MODALITY OF THE VISIBLE: AT LEAST THAT IF NO MORE, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read, seaspawn and seawrack, the nearing tide, that rusty boot. Snotgreen, bluesilver, rust: coloured signs. Limits of the diaphane. But he adds: in bodies. Then he was aware of them bodies before of them coloured. How? By knocking his sconce against them, sure. Go easy. Bald he was and a millionaire, maestro di color che sanno . Limit of the diaphane in. Why in? Diaphane, adiaphane. If you can put your five fingers through it, it is a gate, if not a door. Shut your eyes and see. Stephen closed his eyes to hear his boots crush crackling wrack and shells. You are walking through it howsomever. I am, a stride at a time. A very short space of time through very short times of space. Five, six: the nacheinander . Exactly: and that is the ineluctable modality of the audible. Open your eyes. No. Jesus! If I fell over a cliff that beetles o'er his base, fell through the nebeneinander ineluctably. I am getting on nicely in the dark. My ash sword hangs at my side. Tap with it: they do. My two feet in his boots are at the end of his legs, nebeneinander . Sounds solid: made by the mallet of Los Demiurgos . Am I walking into eternity along Sandymount strand? Crush, crack, crick, crick. Wild sea money. Dominie Deasy kens them a'. Won't you come to Sandymount, Madeline the mare? Rhythm begins, you see. I hear. A catalectic tetrameter of iambs marching. No, agallop: deline the mare . Open your eyes now. I will. One moment. Has all vanished since? If I open and am for ever in the black adiaphane. Basta ! I will see if I can see. See now. There all the time without you: and ever shall be, world without end.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Ulysses by James Joyce, 1922
The passage explores perception, reality, and the thin veil between the visible and invisible, using vivid, fragmented imagery.
In simple terms: Seeing beyond the obvious reveals deeper truths.
Question assumptions and look deeper.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- art analysis
- meditation
- creative writing
- philosophical debate
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does fragmented narrative affect understanding?
- What “gates” does perception open?
The abstract style may obscure meaning for many readers.