Modernity and Its Discontents
Modernity and Its Discontents
Fashion and “My Girl's a Yorkshire Girl”
This chapter focuses on the material world of fashion and the import of the oft-cited music hall song “My Girl's a Yorkshire Girl.” It argues that the ironic transformation of the frugal, self-denying woman in this song into a prostitute in “Circe” provides an implicit commentary on the vicissitudes of colonialism. After examining the attire of many of the characters in Ulysses and their imperfect attempts to follow contemporary fashion, the chapter concludes that James Joyce depicts many of his central figures as both complicit with and resistant to consumerist modernity. Moreover, the economic plight of many of the prostitutes and the monetary worries of Molly Bloom lay bare the conditions of colonial subjects and highlight their penuriousness and struggles to survive.
Keywords: Ulysses, James Joyce, fashion, music hall song, prostitute, Circe, colonialism, modernity, Molly Bloom, economic plight
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