Proteus - 'Ulysses' - James Joyce

Time:
10-11 am
Scene:
'The Strand'
Persons:
Proteus - Primal Matter
Kevin Egan - Menelaus
The Cockle picker - Megapenthus
Symbol::
-- No symbol yet. Telemachus has no body yet!
Art/Science: PHILOLOGY


This is one of the hardest part of the book: Joyce is
using the 'internal monologue' in 'full effect'.
In Homer's original book, Menelaos explains how he caught
Proteus and letting him answer the questions.
(Proteus has the power of prophecy and might give
Stephen a clue of his 'father's whereabouts'.
Joyce experiments in this chapter with the different
shapes Proteus takes, mixing the Greek with Celtic mythology, and using Biblical and Shakespearian allusions.
Crucial is that this chapter is only Stephen's
monologue, and you'll find references to Bloom, his 'father'.
Discovered by            S. Synnott
Date of Discovery        1989
Distance from Neptune    117,650 km
Radius                   218 × 208 × 201 km
Mass                     ???
Orbital Eccentricity     0.0004
Orbital Inclination      0.55°
Orbital Period           1.122315 days
Rotational Period        ???
Density (gm/cm3)         ???

Proteus is one of the darkest objects in the solar system. It reflects only 6% of the light it receives, about as dark as coal. It was not discovered earlier because of its darkness and its closeness to Neptune. The glare off the planet's surface hid it from view until Voyager 2 happened by.

Irregularly shaped, it is about as large as an object can get without its gravity pulling it into a sphere. Other than a lot of impact craters, its surface has no distinguishing marks.

Sources:
NASA.gov
space.com

Pro"te*us (?), n. [L., Gr. .]

1. Class. Myth.

A sea god in the service of Neptune who assumed different shapes at will. Hence, one who easily changes his appearance or principles.

2. Zool. (a)

A genus of aquatic eel-shaped amphibians found in caves in Austria. They have permanent external gills as well as lungs. The eyes are small and the legs are weak.

(b)

A changeable protozoan; an ameba.

<-- 3. a genus of gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria, including some species pathogenic in man. -->

 

© Webster 1913.

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