July 1923? Kevineen level one and two

As an infant Kevineen delighted himself by playing with the sponge on tubbing night. As a growing boy {under the influence of holy religion which had been instilled into him across his grandmother's knee} he grew more & more pious and abstracted like the time God knows he sat down on the plate of mutton broth. He simply had no time for girls and often used to say that his dearest mother & his dear sisters were good enough for him. At the age of six he wrote a prize essay on kindness to fishes.

As an infant Kevineen delighted himself by playing with the sponge on tubbing night.

pretty harmless foreshadowing of OCD?


As a growing boy {under the influence of holy religion which had been instilled into him across his grandmother's knee} he grew more & more pious and abstracted like the time God knows he sat down on the plate of mutton broth.

transferred from Issy2: "She could do 2 things at same time... sometimes it was how she would be studying something like the day God knows she sat down in the plate of soup (Kevin"

"plate of... broth"?
why was the broth on a plate, and why was a plate where anyone could sit on it?
"mutton broth" sounds poor but funny
why grandmother not mother? was spanking to blame for his OCD?


He simply had no time for girls and often used to say that his dearest mother & his dear sisters were good enough for him.

clearly an incest joke, though from the perspective of the Church there's no innuendo implied at all

cf T&I5 (later): "Isolde! O Isolde! Sister soul and hand!"


At the age of six he wrote a prize essay on kindness to fishes.

Joyce's self-parody
cf kindness to beggars/animals/fishes/bugs (Issy is kind to devil, beggar-saint, dragon)

Flood: Ireland, Its Saints and Scholars 24: (of Saint Columcille) 'His monks were taught by him to observe Obedience, Celibacy, Caution and Reason in Speech, Humility, Hospitality, and Kindness to Animals' 

As an infant shortly after [being] {the little stranger} coming into the world, Kevineen delighted himself by playing with the sponge on tubbing night. As a growing boy under the influence of holy religion which had been instilled into him across his grandmother's knee he grew more & more pious & abstracted like the time God knows he sat down on the plate of mutton broth. He simply had no time for girls and often used to say to his dearest mother & dear sister that his dearest mother & his dear sisters were good enough for him. At the age of six years & six months he wrote a prize essay on kindness to fishes.

As an infant shortly after [being] the little stranger coming into the world, Kevineen delighted himself by playing with the sponge on tubbing night.

VI.A Eumeus (Jul?) "welcome little stranger"
alienated from society even at birth?


As a growing boy under the influence of holy religion which had been instilled into him across his grandmother's knee he grew more and more pious and abstracted like the time God knows he sat down on the plate of mutton broth.



He simply had no time for girls and often used to say to his dearest mother and dear sister that his dearest mother and his dear sisters were good enough for him.



At the age of six years and six months he wrote a prize essay on kindness to fishes.

why add "six months"? to emphasize the number six?

July 1923??? Kevineen level four?

Shortly after having come into this vale of tears, the little stranger Kevineen delighted himself by sporting with the sponge on tubbing night. As a growing boy under the influence of holy religion instilled into him across his grandmother's old king Jones's knee he grew more and more pious like the time God knows when ejaculating for forty days indulgence and ten quarantines he sat down on the plate of mutton broth. He simply had no time for girls and things and often used he to say to his dearest mother and dear sisters as how his dearest mother and dear sisters were good enough for him. Of him we are further told that at the age of six he wrote a school prize essay on kindness to freshwater fish.

Shortly after having come into this vale of tears, the little stranger Kevineen delighted himself by sporting with the sponge on tubbing night.

already finding lonely joy in isolation and purification


As a growing boy under the influence of holy religion instilled into him across his grandmother's old king Jones's knee he grew more and more pious like the time God knows when ejaculating for forty days indulgence and ten quarantines he sat down on the plate of mutton broth.

"his grandmother's old king Jones's knee" can this be right?
"when ejaculating for forty days indulgence and ten quarantines"


He simply had no time for girls and things and often used he to say to his dearest mother and dear sisters as how his dearest mother and dear sisters were good enough for him.


Of him we are further told that at the age of six he wrote a school prize essay on kindness to freshwater fish.

changing "fishes" to "freshwater fish" loses the pathos and replaces it with more OCD (why not saltwater fish too?)