# Ulysses — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Ulysses by James Joyce.

- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/i.md): Buck Mulligan, a boisterous medical student, shaves on the rooftop of the Martello Tower while mocking the Catholic Mass. Stephen Dedalus, a brooding intellectual, joins him. Mulligan teases Stephen about his grief for h
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter opens on the morning of June 16, 1904, at the Martello Tower in Sandycove. Buck Mulligan, a boisterous medical student, shaves on the parapet and teases Stephen Dedalus about his refusal to pray at his mother
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/ii.md): Stephen Dedalus teaches a history lesson at Mr. Deasy's school, grappling with his own thoughts on history, memory, and identity. After the lesson, Mr. Deasy pays him and gives him a letter to publish, while making anti-
- [Proteus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/iii.md): Stephen Dedalus walks along Sandymount Strand, deeply immersed in philosophical and sensory reflections on the visible and audible world. He contemplates the nature of reality, memory, and his own artistic identity, reca
- [Calypso](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/iv.md): Leopold Bloom begins his day, preparing breakfast for his wife Molly, reading a letter from their daughter Milly, and reflecting on themes of mortality, reincarnation, and the mundane details of daily life. He visits the
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/v.md): Leopold Bloom goes about his morning errands, retrieving a letter from his secret correspondent Martha Clifford at the post office, attending a Catholic mass, and reflecting on his past, his marriage, and the nature of r
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/vi.md): Bloom attends Paddy Dignam's funeral at Glasnevin Cemetery, reflecting on death, memory, and the rituals of burial. He observes the mourners, the priest, and the gravediggers, and interacts with Martin Cunningham, John H
- [Aeolus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/vii.md): In the newspaper office, Leopold Bloom attempts to place an advertisement for Alexander Keyes, while Stephen Dedalus arrives with a letter from Mr Deasy. The chapter is filled with rhetorical flourishes, discussions of o
- [Lestrygonians](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/viii.md): Leopold Bloom wanders through Dublin around lunchtime, reflecting on various topics including food, death, and the passage of time. He encounters acquaintances, observes the city's life, and recalls memories of his past 
- [Scylla and Charybdis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/ix.md): In the National Library, Stephen Dedalus expounds his theory that Shakespeare's works, particularly Hamlet, are deeply autobiographical, shaped by the playwright's personal betrayals and losses. The discussion involves J
- [Wandering Rocks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/x.md): This chapter follows multiple characters through the streets of Dublin, including Mr Kernan, Stephen Dedalus, Dilly Dedalus, Simon Dedalus, and Mr Bloom, as they encounter various sights, sounds, and interactions that re
- [Chapter XI: Sirens](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xi.md): In the Ormond Hotel bar, Bloom listens to music and singing while reflecting on love, desire, and memory. Simon Dedalus and Ben Dollard perform, and Bloom observes the barmaids Miss Douce and Miss Kennedy. He thinks of M
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xii.md): In Barney Kiernan's pub, a group of Dubliners including the Citizen, Joe Hynes, John Wyse Nolan, and others discuss politics, capital punishment, and Leopold Bloom, who arrives and is met with hostility. The conversation
- [Nausicaa](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xiii.md): Leopold Bloom rests on Sandymount Strand as evening falls, observing the nearby girls including Gerty MacDowell. Gerty, a young woman conscious of her appearance and romantic hopes, daydreams about a potential suitor. Bl
- [Oxen of the Sun](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xiv.md): In the National Maternity Hospital, a group of men including Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and several medical students and friends gather to drink and discuss a range of topics from literature and philosophy to pregna
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xv.md): In this hallucinatory episode, Leopold Bloom is transformed into a fantastical figure—a lord mayor, a messianic leader, and a builder of the new Bloomusalem—as he parades through a surreal Dublin filled with pageantry, p
- [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvi.md): Bloom and Stephen continue their late-night conversation, touching on politics, personal history, and the challenges of their respective lives. Bloom reflects on Stephen's intellectual potential and the risks of bringing
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvii.md): Bloom and Stephen walk together through Dublin, discussing a wide range of topics including music, literature, Ireland, and religion. They arrive at Bloom's home at 7 Eccles Street, where Bloom realizes he has forgotten 
- [Penelope](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xviii.md): Molly Bloom's soliloquy as she lies in bed, reflecting on her day, her marriage to Leopold Bloom, her affair with Blazes Boylan, memories of Gibraltar, and her thoughts on men, women, and life. She considers the possibil

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters