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and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.
Molly BloomUlysses · Episode 18 — Penelope
June 16
Penelope
Episode 18 of 18 · Bloomsday, 1904
It’s past 2 AM in Dublin. Leopold Bloom has finally come home after an 18-hour odyssey through the city. His wife Molly lies in bed, half-asleep, and her mind drifts through memories: Gibraltar, her first loves, the day Bloom proposed on Howth Head. In the novel’s final movement — eight enormous sentences with no punctuation — her consciousness flows from resentment to tenderness to desire to the ultimate affirmation.
Why This Matters
The last words of Ulysses, and arguably the most famous ending in modern literature. Joyce said Penelope was the "‘clou’ of the book" — after 17 episodes of male consciousness, Molly’s "Yes" erupts as the life force itself.
affirmationlovememoryconsciousness
Penelope
John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, 1864 · Public Domain