# Oxen of the Sun explained — Ulysses > Chapter companion for Ulysses by James Joyce. ## What happens 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 pregnancy, childbirth, and the nature of creation. The conversation meanders through bawdy jokes, theological debates, and reflections on paternity and loss, while Bloom quietly observes and recalls his own grief over his son Rudy and his daughter Milly. The chapter is notable for its parodic pastiche of English prose styles from different historical periods. ## Themes in this chapter ### Fatherhood and Filial Relations Bloom's reflections on his son Rudy and his father Rudolph, and Stephen's strained relationship with his own father and his mother's memory, highlight the theme of paternity and lineage. ### Mortality and Grief Stephen's darkening face at the reminder of his mother's death, and Bloom's sorrow over Rudy, underscore the presence of loss and the fragility of life. ### Art and Creativity Stephen's self-identification as a 'bullockbefriending bard' and the discussion of his artistic promise reflect the theme of artistic creation and the role of the poet. ## Character check-ins ### Stephen Dedalus Engages in philosophical and theological debate, speaks of calling ghosts across Lethe, and is reminded of his mother's death and his artistic promise. ### Leopold Bloom Present at the hospital, quietly reflective; thinks of his son Rudy, his daughter Milly, and his own father Rudolph. ### Lenehan Tells of a horse race where Sceptre lost to Throwaway, and jokes with the company. ### Punch Costello Attempts to sing a bawdy song and is rebuked by nurse Quigley. ### Dixon Asks Stephen why he did not take friar's vows; Stephen replies with a witty answer. ### Dr Mulligan Whispers to Lenehan to preserve a druid silence, pointing to the stranger and the scarlet label. ## Key lines > You have spoken of the past and its phantoms, Stephen said. Why think of them? If I call them into life across the waters of Lethe will not the poor ghosts troop to my call? Who supposes it? I, Bous Stephanoumenos, bullockbefriending bard, am lord and giver of their life. Stephen argues that he has the power to summon the past and its memories, asserting his role as a poet who gives life to what is dead. _Stephen claims artistic authority over memory and history, a key moment in his self-conception as a creator._ > No son of thy loins is by thee. There is none now to be for Leopold, what Leopold was for Rudolph. Bloom laments that he has no living son to carry on his legacy, as he himself was a son to his father Rudolph. _This passage reveals Bloom's deep grief over the death of his infant son Rudy and his sense of broken lineage._ > In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not pass away. Stephen draws a parallel between the Incarnation (the Word becoming flesh in the womb) and the artist's power to transform mortal flesh into eternal art. _This reflects Stephen's theory of artistic creation as a form of transubstantiation, blending theology and aesthetics._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xiv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters