“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
— Ellmann frequently alludes to Joyce's sense of interconnectedness, and this quote, though from John Donne, reflects a theme Ellmann emphasizes in Joyce's work and life.
“Silence, exile, and cunning.”
— Stephen Dedalus's declaration of his chosen weapons in 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,' which Ellmann presents as key to understanding Joyce's own artistic strategy.
“Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.”
— The powerful closing lines of 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,' signifying Stephen's, and by extension Joyce's, ambitious artistic mission.
“History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.”
— A pivotal line from 'Ulysses,' reflecting Joyce's complex relationship with Irish history and his desire to transcend its burdens through art.
“He was a man who lived by words, and died by words.”
— Ellmann's own summary of Joyce's existence, highlighting the centrality of language to every aspect of his life and art.
“The artist, like the God of the creation, remains within or behind or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent, paring his fingernails.”
— Stephen Dedalus's aesthetic theory in 'A Portrait,' which Ellmann shows to be an important facet of Joyce's own artistic detachment and objectivity.
“I am a product of the Jesuits.”
— Joyce's acknowledgment of the profound influence of his Jesuit education, despite his eventual rejection of Catholicism, as detailed by Ellmann.
“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.”
— From 'The Dead,' a reflection on life, death, and passion that Ellmann presents as embodying Joyce's early thematic concerns.
“His genius was not in being Irish, but in being universal.”
— Ellmann's argument that while Joyce's work is deeply rooted in Ireland, its ultimate power lies in its broader human relevance.
“He was a man who could not be happy without being unhappy.”
— Ellmann's observation on Joyce's complex psychological makeup, suggesting a paradoxical relationship with contentment and suffering.
“The object of the artist is to arrest the attention.”
— A concise statement of artistic purpose from Joyce, which Ellmann highlights as central to his innovative and often challenging literary style.
“He wanted to write about Dublin so that if the city one day disappeared from the earth, it could be reconstructed out of his book.”
— Ellmann's vivid description of Joyce's meticulous attention to detail in depicting Dublin, particularly in 'Ulysses.'
“I have been for the greater part of my life a poor man.”
— Joyce's own pragmatic reflection on his persistent financial struggles, which Ellmann documents extensively throughout his biography.
“His mind, like a camera obscura, was capable of projecting images with extraordinary vividness.”
— Ellmann's metaphor for Joyce's imaginative and descriptive powers, emphasizing his ability to create detailed mental landscapes.
