Variation And Convergence: An Aesthetic Reading Of Joyce's Ulysses

Ulysses is a novel of enormous aesthetic value. This dissertation attempts to examine the aesthetic qualities of the work and demonstrate the aesthetic principles behind the text by focusing on its form, language and reception. The central argument is that variation and convergence hold immense aesthetic value which makes for the peerless beauty of the work and contributes to its artistic prominence. Variation is defined as a kind of changeability in the form or substance of artistic expression. It provides a work of art with dynamic energy and complexity that ensures its long-term artistic vitality. This dissertation points out that the quality of variation mainly characterizes the textual surface and the state of readers'responses. Convergence is defined as a tendency towards unity and wholeness. It brings order where chaos reigns, endows diversity with oneness of purpose, and maintains a balance between opposite forces. It is primarily adopted as an organizing principle of the formal and linguistic structure of the work. Joyce's aesthetic achievement in Ulysses is basically related to his integration of the two ostensibly contrasting qualities in the text which inspires a sensation of perfection and elevates the novel to a new level of artistic sophistication. Based on the two qualities, the novel successfully aligns order with disorder and parallels modern life with classic myth. It has a compatibility with different aesthetic tendencies and perceptions. As a result, it fascinates readers with diverse tastes and enriches their aesthetic experience to the fullest. The study holds that the making of beauty in literature calls for the interaction between the text (aesthetic object) and the reader (aesthetic subject). So the focus of this dissertation falls on both the textual and extra-textual factors which contribute to the aesthetic excellence of Ulysses.The first chapter investigates the formal aesthetics of Ulysses by probing into its structure, narrative and character network. It substantiates that variation and convergence are the aesthetic principles operating in the formal construction of the work. Endowed with the power of convergence, form plays a crucial role in bringing order to the textual variations and giving coherence to the diverse elements of the novel. The main finding of this chapter is that the novel possesses a super stable structure which underlies the protean surface of the text. The textual structure assumes the role of organization through focusing and opposition. The narrative structure is found to coordinate varied narrative time, voices and points of view to serve the objective of character portrayal. The characters are also not randomly deployed; every one of them has a specific function and constitutes a basic unit of a relation network. For the sake of characterization, Joyce subjects the major characters to a series of transformations. The network is a converging structure that directs the least important characters towards the relatively important ones which are finally centered on the major ones.Focusing on the linguistic aesthetics of Ulysses in the second chapter, the dissertation argues that the qualities of variation and convergence also hold sway in the linguistic aesthetics of Ulysses. Variations prevail in Joyce's linguistic experimentations which not only create a vertiginous effect but also conjure an intense sense of beauty. And yet they are governed and guided by the principle of maximizing the representational effectiveness of his novel. By virtue of stylistic deconstruction and reconstruction, Joyce demonstrates that the priority of content over style is a prerequisite for strengthening the representational power of language. Through his experimentation with style, he substantiates that the soul of literature always lies in content rather than in the exhibition of stylistic techniques, and therefore the best style is the one that aligns itself with content. Furthermore, his exploitation of various rhetorical devices indicates that rhetoric is not only an effective means that reflects the beauty of language but also exposes the truth of the spiritual world. Although those devices differ in function, they all help the author to translate a lot of perceptual and sensory experiences into words. Some devices obscure the meaning of words and cause confusion in understanding, and such an effect is exactly what Joyce needs so as to represent the chaotic state of the unconscious. Joyce's experimentation with the symbolic use of language allows him to represent the evolution of human beings in an artistic way. The significations of the text are considerably enriched by the split between signifier and the designated signified, which creates room for the author to cram an encyclopedic amount of information into the novel. Nevertheless the significations do not proliferate in an uncontrollable way; they are put together to represent adventure, the eternal motif of human life.The third chapter uncovers the law that governs the reception aesthetics of Ulysses by tracing the whole process of literary production and consumption. It not only gives a critical review of the author's aesthetic conception by the time he wrote the novel but also examines the potential and actual readers'responses. The dissertation finds that variation and convergence have run through the whole reception process. The initial variation comes into being in Joyce's compatible aesthetic system. His all-round perspective places him in a vantage position on which his aesthetic experience thrives with the interpenetration of traditional and modern values. This dissertation finds that variation becomes more pronounced when the multi-faceted response-inviting structure calls forth sympathetic responses from different groups of readers. The fact that the novel is able to coordinate itself with different aesthetic criteria gives rise to the situation that readers'responses to the novel vary with the change of times. As a result of those variations, readers of different generations take aesthetic pleasure typical of their own times. On the other hand, this chapter discusses how the power of convergence takes effect through the interplay among the author, the text and the reader. The text remains a focal point during the aesthetic process. The implied reader arising from it is able to reconcile contradictory aesthetic doctrines, bringing the author and the reader together. His influence extends to the reception process in which, despite a lot of controversies, there has been a consensus among readers on the supreme artistic value of the work.The dissertation concludes that the unity of variation and convergence is due to Joyce's inexhaustible creativity and his balanced handling of writing techniques and materials. Creativity whose objective is to change is the motive power behind all the variations, and the state of balance is essential to the fulfillment of convergence. It helps the latter to dissolve differences and settle down the chaotic situation. Combining kinesis with stasis and rational order with chaotic energy, it points to a tendency towards aesthetic satisfaction and perfection. In the conclusion part, the aesthetic value deriving from the two qualities is summarized into seven well-balanced dichotomies that underpin the aesthetic construction of Ulysses, including chaos and order, variety and unity, fact and fiction, inheritance and innovation, diegesis and mimesis, myth and daily life, and divergence and agreement. Notably, Joyce's appropriate handling of these dichotomies ensures the matchless state of Ulysses in the history of literature.