I will start my paper by quoting from Ulysses. This quotation I find particularly significant in order to tackle the ambiguities of the Joycean adverb. This is an excerpt from “The Lotus Eaters”: Bloom is reading tea packet labels in the window of the Belfast and Oriental Tea Company: “While his eyes still read blandly he took off his hat quietly inhaling his hairoil (…)”(1). One can wonder whether the adverb « blandly » modifies the verb « read » or the verb « took off ». What about the adverb “quietly”? Does it modify « took off » or « inhaling »? Does Bloom take off his hat quietly or does he inhale his hairoil quietly? It depends on the way you delineate the scope of the first adverb “blandly”. The ambiguous scope of the adverbs “blandly” and “quietly” mainly derives from the absence of any punctuation. Therefore this example immediately evinces the impossibility of separating any adverbial study from a close syntactical analysis.

Among the many problems arising from the use of adverbs in Joyce’s work, one of the most significant is the alliance of adverbs, that is to say the coupling of two adverbs separated by an « and » (coordinating conjunction), especially in Dubliners and A Portrait. In this paper, I will consider to what extent are couples of adverbs compatible in Joyce’s work. This will subsequently lead us to evaluate the degree of consistency existing between adverbs and the verbs they complete.

First we will see how the combination of adverbs can generate temporal and logical disruptions before considering the semantic incompatibility that can occur between predicates and adverbs. Our last part will be devoted to optical disorders: we will show that temporal and logical disruptions have to be reconsidered in terms of perception and viewpoints.

Syntactical ambiguities, temporal and logical disruptions in Joyce’s early work are indeed intimately connected with incongruous associations of adverbs.

The first example we are going to study is taken from A Portrait, end of chapter 2. This chapter concludes as Stephen experiences his first sexual intercourse, with a young Dublin prostitute: “As he stood silent in the middle of the room she came over to him and embraced him gaily and gravely”(2). If the reader pays attention to the final adverbial couple (« gaily and gravely »), he cannot but notice a certain amount of inconsistency between the two adverbs themselves. They convey a double impression of thoughtlessness (as connoted by « gaily ») and of seriousness, solemnity (« gravely »). This impression may seem somewhat contradictory and inconsistent at first – unless we assume the two adverbs do not take place on a vertical level but on a horizontal one. In other words, one has to assume that they modify the verb « embrace » not at the same time but successively. Yet it is more probable that this surprising alliance of adverbs reflects the state of extreme confusion that affects Stephen so that the qualities he gives to the young woman’s embrace become interchangeable although they may be contradictory. In a way this alliance of adverbs (« gaily and gravely ») encompasses Stephen’s emotional conflicts as regards women. Indeed the Dublin prostitute embodies characteristics of several women such as Eileen or Stephen’s mother: she is youthful and thoughtless in appearance given that she wears a pink dress and had a doll by the bed, yet she is confident and maternal (she calms his fears and guilt by calling him a « little rascal »); hence the quasi oxymoron between « gaily » and « gravely ». Therefore this couple of adverbs is pregnant with temporal ambiguities which are highly linked to the way we interpret « and »: will the coordinating conjunction « and » express simultaneity or will it refer to chronological succession? I think that « gaily » and « gravely » are so closely associated within Stephen’s mind that the coordinating conjunction « and » points to simultaneity more than it does to succession. Even more likely than simultaneity, the meaning of the conjunction « and » approaches alternative to such a point that « and » could be replaced by « or ». As a consequence, « gaily » and « gravely » represent two complementary scenarios despite their peculiar alliance. The young woman’s cheerfulness and seriousness designate two aspects of the same reality. In addition, this rapid accumulation of varied and opposed sensations is to be found again in the subsequent sentence: « Her round arms held him firmly to her and he, seeing her face lifted to him in serious calm and feeling the warm calm rise and fall of her breast, all but burst into hysterical weeping »(3). In a single line we move from the adjective « calm » to the adjective « hysterical ».

Temporal and logical challenges are related to the scope of the adverb: to which sentence elements is the adverb related? The two following examples illustrate the referential gap existing between the coordinated adverbs in Joyce’s work: « --I must go, he said softly and benevolently »(4) and « Freddy Malins (…) was still applauding when everyone else had ceased and talking animatedly to his mother who nodded her head gravely and slowly in acquiescence »(5). In the first example, Donovan takes leave of Stephen and his friends. « Softly » seems to modify the verb « say » while « benevolently » characterizes the subject of the sentence, that is to say « he », Donovan. The same goes with the second couple of adverbs: « gravely and slowly ». « Slowly » undoubtedly refers to the verb « nod » while « gravely » is more closely related to the subject of the sentence, that is to say of Freddy Malin’s mother’s air. Consequently « Gravely » and « benevolently » designate appearances rather than characterize activities and can be regarded as “subject-oriented modifiers”(6).

On different occasions, temporal and logical distortion also apply to isolated adverbs but I won’t expand on it too much as I decided to restrain my paper to couples of adverbs. I will just give you two examples from Dubliners: « Ignatius Gallaher slapped his friend sonorously on the back »(7) and « Mr Dedalus threw his knife and fork noisily on his plate »(8). “Sonorously” and “noisily” both qualify the results of the verb “slap” and “throw” rather than modify the action described by the verb itself as any adverb of manner occupying this position in the sentence would do. Consequently one can argue that the adverbs “sonorously” and “noisily” are pregnant with temporal and logical ambiguities as they seem to collapse the expression of manner with that of consequence.

Yet temporal and logical disruptions between adverbs themselves cannot be dissociated from a reflection on the compatibility between adverbs and verbs. I will introduce my second part with a passage from “Two Gallants”.

« As he passed Lenehan took off his cap and, after about ten seconds, Corley returned a salute to the air. This he did by raising his hand vaguely and pensively changing the angle of position of his hat »(9). There is no real couple of adverbs here since the conjunction « and » does not relate the two adverbs « vaguely » and « pensively » but it coordinates the two sentences « this he did by raising his hand vaguely » and the sentence « pensively changing the angle of position of his hat ». Yet this example is worth considering for two main reasons: firstly the semantic discrepancy between the adverb and the predicate and, secondly, the meaning of the adverb « vaguely » itself. The adverb « vaguely » does not really match the gesture « raising his hand » just as « pensively » is not fully adapted to characterize the changing of position of the hat. Let’s take a closer look at the adverb « vaguely » which is so recurrent in Joyce’s work and which we will analyze later in our speech. In this example, the adverb « vaguely » seems to contradict the apparent grandiloquence of Corley’s greeting that is suggested both by the position of the demonstrative pronoun « this » at the head of the sentence and by the use of the word « salute » that belongs to a formal register. Nevertheless the reader rapidly understands that « vaguely » is part of a salutation strategy that is elaborately calculated and deliberately sabotaged by Corley: indeed the insistence on « this » at the very start of the sentence conveys the very complexity of Corley’s gesture that turns into a real operation. This is also underlined by the addition of details such as « angle »: Corley does not just change the position of his hat but he modifies the angle of position of his hat. The operation has a deliberate purpose: to ignore Lenehan. As Corley is embarrassed by Lenehan’s indiscreet presence, Corley manages to delay his answer to Lenehan’s salute (« after about ten seconds ») but also to make his gesture barely visible (« vaguely ») and not to look at Lenehan (« a salute to the air »). The adverb « pensively » is quite fascinating as well : as opposed to the adverb « vaguely » which semantically applies to the verb « raised », « pensively » can only be semantically related to the subject of the sentence, that is say « he » Corley. « Pensively » cannot characterize the changing of the position of the hat but refers to Corley’s look and attitude as an adjective would do. Yet the fact that it is syntactically close to the verb « change » tends to turn the action « changing the angle of position of the hat » itself into an attitude as “pensively” conveys some static modality related to the state of the Joycean subject.

Consequently we can say that the additional detail provided by the adverb seems to give extra meaning to neutral or trivial gestures and to subsequently convert them into stylized gestures that are close to attitudes. Yet one can wonder to what extent the adverbial supplements go beyond characters themselves: the adverbs such as « pensively », « gravely », are far too frequent in the text to be mere grammatical modifiers. In addition their incompatibility that is more or less marked with the rest of the sentence, particularly the predicate, reinforces their distinctiveness. The examples of this adverbial feature are countless in Joyce’s Dubliners. One can quote from « Grace » for instance: « ‘No superfluities,’ said Mr. Fogarty. He enunciated the word and then drank gravely »(10). The use of the adverb « gravely » associated with the verb « drank » is quite ironical because of the contrast between the characters’ aspirations and reality. Indeed, Mr. Fogarty and his friends pose as scholars when they are in fact drunkards. Also, they engage into a discussion on Church history and theology but they keep misusing a variety of Latin terms and piling up half-truths and mistakes. Therefore one can argue that the adverbial network can be a way for Joyce to debunk the insignificance of some of his characters’ gestures and above all the futility and ridicule of their aspiration for greatness.

Moreover, adverbial inconsistency, be it between adverbs themselves or between adverbs and predicates, arises from optical disorders which is the topic of my last part.

Let’s focus on the following example from A Portrait: « Cranly gazed after him blandly and vaguely »(11). Firstly, one can be struck by the association of intensity with vagueness as it is hard to imagine a look that is both sustained (as suggested by « gazed ») and vague (« vaguely). Yet this is closely related to the way one should interpret the alliance of the two adverbs « blandly » and « vaguely ». Let’s have a look at the French « La Pléiade » translation: « Cranly le regarda d’un air placide et vague »(12). « Vaguely » is translated by « air vague » and it is just as difficult to try and conceive what stands for « un air vague » than to fully understand the meaning of the adverb « vaguely ». However the choice to add a noun « air » to the translation of the verb « to gaze » and the choice to relate the French adjectives « placide » and « vague » to this noun is highly questionable : it seems that the two English adverbs « blandly » and « vaguely » function on two different levels although they are coordinated. On the one hand, the adverb « blandly » characterises the impression Cranly generates from a strictly exterior viewpoint: indeed Cranly looks affable, friendly to the eyes of Stephen and the medical student working in the library. Therefore the French translation « air placide » for the adverb « blandly » seems justified. On the other hand, the second adverb « vaguely » could relate to a much more internal focalisation: Cranly watches the priest stand up and leave but he does not really see him because he is engrossed in a chess problem: « He (Cranly) leaned back in his chair, inclining his ear like that of a confessor to the face of the medical student who was reading to him a problem from the chess page of a journal »(13). One could even argue that the loss of intensity that seems to occur between « gazed » and « vaguely » is in fact reinvested in the attention that Cranly requires to comprehend the chess problem. Therefore the loss of visual energy is turned into mental power so that attention calls for concentration. To sum up, it is above all fascinating to notice how the juxtaposition of adverbs the association of which looks unusual at first glance, in fact enables the Joycean reader to perceive the scene through two different lenses given that each adverb suggests a different focalisation. The French « La Pléiade » translation nevertheless chooses to erase the ambiguity created by the adverbial alliance by converting adverbs into adjectives and linking both to an outer focalization as implied by the noun « air » : « air placide et vague ». Referring back to the Joycean text, one can rephrase our demonstration by saying that this unexpected combination of adverbs enables one single predicate (“gazed after him blandly and vaguely”) to encapsulate two events (Stephen looking at Cranly and Cranly looking at the priest). One could even use a mathematical term and call this phenomenon a « factorization of the event », the common factor being the verb « gaze ». This adverbial factorization of the event points to the complexity of perception and the optical intertwining of gazes in Joyce’s work.

However and interestingly enough, the adverb can play the exact opposite part in Joyce’s work, especially in Ulysses where couples of adverbs are less frequent, almost rare compared to Dubliners or A Portrait: instead of participating to the factorization of the event, the adverb can tend to develop and duplicate the verbal action. Let us just consider the two following examples: « He scratched imprecisely with his right hand (…) »(14) and « He (…) shut up his right eye completely »(15).

In the example revolving around the adverb “imprecisely”, the verb « scratch » already includes semantically the notion of imprecision as it means to write something hurriedly and awkwardly. As to the adverb “completely”, in the second example, its meaning is already contained in the particle “up”: “to shut” means “to close” and “up” reinforces this sense of closure since it has a perfective meaning. “To shut up” already means “to close entirely”. Therefore, the addition of “completely” is redundant: how can you shut up your eye in any other way than “completely”? You cannot shut up your eye halfway. Yet this adverbial surplus is a linguistic feature that is really often at work in Ulysses. In our second example, the adverbial extension with “completely” serves a deliberate purpose: first, it is reminiscent of the Joycean obsession with hermetic closure, especially in Ulysses. Secondly, this emphasis on achievement (with “completely”) suggests the very difficulty of the movement. “Shutting up” his eye proves to be a real effort for the subject of the sentence, that is to say the sailor in “Eumaeus”.

To conclude briefly, I would say that adverbs represent an extremely malleable grammatical category in Joyce’s work. Their polymorphous behaviour appears both on the syntactic and semantic planes. It is pregnant with ambiguities be they temporal or logical and thus requires constant optical readjustments.

I will just end this paper by quoting “Two Gallants” to illustrate this porosity of the Joycean adverb which is often liable to change grammatical category and turn into an adjective: “He plucked at the wires heedlessly, glancing quickly from time to time at the face of each new-comer and from time to time, wearily also, at the sky. His harp, too, heedless that her coverings had fallen about her knees, seemed weary alike of the eyes of strangers and of her master's hands”(16).

Selected Bibliography

Primary sources

Joyce, James. Dubliners (1914). Ed. T. Browne. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1992.

---. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). Ed. Jeri Johnson. Oxford: OUP, 2000.

---. Ulysses (1922). Ed. Jeri Johnson. New York: OUP, 1993.

---. Œuvres I. Ed. Jacques Aubert. Paris : Gallimard, 2002.

Secondary sources

Guimier, Claude and Larcher, Pierre. Les états de l’adverbe. Caen : Presses Universitaires de Caen, 1991.

---. Syntaxe de l’adverbe anglais. Arras : Presses Universitaires de Lille, 1988.

Parsons, Terence. « Some Problems Concerning the Logic of Grammatical Modifiers » in Davidson, Donald and Harman, Gilbert (eds.). Semantics of Natural language. Dordrecht: D.Reidel, 1972.

Parsons, Terence. Events in the Semantics of English. A Study in Subatomic Semantics. Current Studies in Linguistics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990.