Theological and Religious References Nicholas Fargnoli I dealt with annotating theological and religious references in the Lotus Eaters and Hades episodes and tried to take a tripartite approach when possible that included: 1) a simple explanation of a word or phrase containing theological or religious reference (on this level, I often relied on Gifford, but not always); 2) a more detailed clarification of the term or phrase (here the clarification might contain a brief historical comment or a picture or an audio and a very brief bibliography); 3) a general comment on how the phrase or the idea contained in the reference might affect the interpretation of the passage or our understanding of a character. One example that I emphasized was the term sodality that comes to Bloom’s mind while in All Hallows: “Something going on: some sodality” (U 5.340). The simple explanation of the word (level #1) can be taken directly from Gifford: “In the Roman Catholic church, a religious guild or brotherhood (sisterhood) established for the purposes of devotion and mutual help or action” (93). I added to Gifford that the word appears once again in Ulysses in the Nausicaa episode (U 13.448). On the second level, I mentioned that sodality is derived from the Latin word sodális, which means companion (an intimate, a comrade or associate) and according to Sodality Catechism (St. Louis, MO: The Queens Work, 1960), “It is a religious association of the faithful, erected by the Church, and placed by it under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin; it pursues both the sanctification of its members and the salvation and sanctification of others, its neighbors” (4). The first sodality was founded in Rome by the Belgian Jesuit John Leunis in 1563. (Also see Emile Villaret, SJ, Abridged History of the Sodalities of Our Lady [trans. William J. Young, SJ], St. Louis, MO: The Queens Work, 1957). I would be more inclined now to quote from the photocopied material of T.I. Mulcahy’s The Sodality Manual: Official Manual for the Sodality of Our Lady in Ireland. On the third level, I mentioned that Bloom’s thoughts as they roam from observing members of a sodality attending mass to how All Hallows would be a “[n]ice discreet place to be next some girl” (U 5.34041) undercut the seriousness of the religious sense of the word sodality and gives to it a secular and romantic connotation that it was never meant to convey. Ironically the Lotus-Eaters is the episode in which Bloom receives a letter from Martha Clifford, a pen pal companion with whom he is carrying on a clandestine correspondence. The notion of companionship in general is very much on Bloom’s mind not only in this episode but throughout the novel; it is also one of the major themes of the novel. A part of our discussion centred on the phrase crimson halters (U 5.342) that Gifford annotates as follows: “Scapulars, insignia or badges of membership in a religious society or sodality. The communicants are probably celebrating a monthly meeting of their society” (93). I questioned whether these “halters” can rightly be called scapulars although they might be a type of insignia or badge. The problem that seems to arise is whether Bloom is using a word that correctly identifies what the communicants are actually wearing or whether he comes up with the term on his own because he does not know the official name of what is being worn. A scapular has two small cloth rectangles that are joined together by a string and worn underneath clothing; one rectangle or square is worn on the breast and the other on the back. A scapular can also refer to a monastic habit. Except for the definition of a woman’s blouse or bodice that is kept in place by straps tied behind the neck and across the back and that bares the back, arms, and shoulders, halter would not appear to be the right word. (There are other definitions of halter, but I really did not touch upon them: a leather strap or rope that is used around the neck or head of animal such as a horse to lead or tie it; a rope or noose for hanging criminals.) I tried to conclude with the comment that more needs to be done here on exactly what the communicants are wearing and why Bloom uses the word halter and how it may tie in to the chapter’s images and symbols.