{"id":1148,"date":"2004-06-15T17:22:19","date_gmt":"2004-06-15T21:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=1148"},"modified":"2026-03-18T08:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T12:05:21","slug":"bloomsday-an-upsetting-psychological-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=1148","title":{"rendered":"Carl Jung: “an upsetting psychological problem”"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a treasure. After struggling to make it through Ulysses<\/i> – Carl Jung wrote Joyce the following letter:<\/p>\n

Dear Sir,<\/p>\n

Your Ulysses <\/i>has presented the world such an upsetting psychological problem, that repeatedly I have been called in as a supposed authority on psychological matters.<\/p>\n

Ulysses <\/i>proved to be an exceedingly hard nut and it has forced my mind not only to most unusual efforts, but also to rather extravagant peregrinations (speaking from the standpoint of a scientist). Your book as a whole has given me no end of trouble and I was brooding over it for about three years until I succeeded to put myself into it. But I must tell you that I’m profoundly grateful to yourself as well as to your gigantic opus, because I learned a great deal from it. I shall probably never be quite sure whether I did enjoy it, because it meant too much grinding of nerves and of grey matter. I also don’t know whether you will enjoy what I have written about Ulysses <\/i>because I couldn’t help telling the world how much I was bored, how I grumbled, how I cursed and how I admired. The 40 pages of non stop run at the end is a string of veritable psychological peaches. I suppose the devil’s grandmother knows so much about the real psychology of a woman, I didn’t.<\/p>\n

Well I just try to recommend my little essay to you, as an amusing attempt of a perfect stranger that went astray in the labyrinth of your Ulysses <\/i>and happened to get out of it again by sheer good luck. At all events you may gather from my article what Ulysses <\/i>has done to a supposedly balanced psychologist.<\/p>\n

With the expression of my deepest appreciation, I remain, dear Sir,<\/p>\n

Yours faithfully,
\nC.G. Jung<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Joyce, naturally, was very proud of this letter, thrilled about it – and would take it out to read to guests.<\/p>\n

Nora, invariably, would snort at the end of the reading and comment, “My husband knows nothing<\/i> about women!”<\/p>\n

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