The 'Nestor' episode takes place in Clifton School (on Clifton Avenue in Dalkey) where Mr. Deasy is schoolmaster. Dalkey is a seaside suburb of Dublin, some 13km (8 miles) south-east of the city center. Known for its medieval streetscapes and castle, it was a major port for Dublin in the Middle Ages. Joyce taught history in Clifton School for one term in 1904. The school is today a private residence called Summerfield Lodge.
"- You, Cochrane, what city sent for him?
- Tarentum, sir.
- Very good. Well?
- There was a battle, sir.
- Very good. Where?
The boy's blank face asked the blank window." (U2.1)
- Tarentum, sir.
- Very good. Well?
- There was a battle, sir.
- Very good. Where?
The boy's blank face asked the blank window." (U2.1)
"Fabled by the daughters of memory. And yet it was in some way if not as memory fabled it." (U2.7)
"A phrase, then, of impatience, thud of Blake's wings of excess. I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppling masonry, and time one livid final flame. What's left us then?" (U2.8)
"- I forget the place, sir. 279 B.C.
- Asculum, Stephen said, glancing at the name and date in the gorescarred book.
- Yes, sir. And he said: Another victory like that and we are done for." (U2.11)
- Asculum, Stephen said, glancing at the name and date in the gorescarred book.
- Yes, sir. And he said: Another victory like that and we are done for." (U2.11)
"That phrase the world had remembered. A dull ease of the mind.
From a hill above a corpsestrewn plain a general speaking to his officers, leaned upon his spear. Any general to any officers. They lend ear.
- You, Armstrong, Stephen said. What was the end of Pyrrhus?
- End of Pyrrhus, sir?
- I know, sir. Ask me, sir, Comyn said.
- Wait. You, Armstrong. Do you know anything about Pyrrhus?
A bag of figrolls lay snugly in Armstrong's satchel. He curled them between his palms at whiles and swallowed them softly. Crumbs adhered to the tissue of his lips. A sweetened boy's breath." (U2.15)
From a hill above a corpsestrewn plain a general speaking to his officers, leaned upon his spear. Any general to any officers. They lend ear.
- You, Armstrong, Stephen said. What was the end of Pyrrhus?
- End of Pyrrhus, sir?
- I know, sir. Ask me, sir, Comyn said.
- Wait. You, Armstrong. Do you know anything about Pyrrhus?
A bag of figrolls lay snugly in Armstrong's satchel. He curled them between his palms at whiles and swallowed them softly. Crumbs adhered to the tissue of his lips. A sweetened boy's breath." (U2.15)
"Welloff people, proud that their eldest son was in the navy. Vico Road, Dalkey.
—Pyrrhus, sir? Pyrrhus, a pier." (U2.24)
[Image courtesy of the ZJJF]
—Pyrrhus, sir? Pyrrhus, a pier." (U2.24)
[Image courtesy of the ZJJF]
"All laughed. Mirthless high malicious laughter. Armstrong looked round at his classmates, silly glee in profile. In a moment they will laugh more loudly, aware of my lack of rule and of the fees their papas pay." (U2.27)
"- Tell me now, Stephen said, poking the boy's shoulder with the book, what is a pier.
- A pier, sir, Armstrong said. A thing out in the water. A kind of bridge." (U2.30)
This PC shows the East Pier in Howth, with Ireland's Eye in the background.
- A pier, sir, Armstrong said. A thing out in the water. A kind of bridge." (U2.30)
This PC shows the East Pier in Howth, with Ireland's Eye in the background.
"Kingstown pier, sir.
Some laughed again: mirthless but with meaning. Two in the back bench whispered." (U2.33)
Some laughed again: mirthless but with meaning. Two in the back bench whispered." (U2.33)
"Yes. They knew: had never learned nor ever been innocent. All. With envy he watched their faces. Edith, Ethel, Gerty, Lily. Their likes: their breaths, too, sweetened with tea and jam, their bracelets tittering in the struggle." (U2.35)
This PC shows an Edwardian classroom.
This PC shows an Edwardian classroom.
"- Kingstown pier, Stephen said. Yes, a disappointed bridge." (U2.39)
"The words troubled their gaze.
- How, sir? Comyn asked. A bridge is across a river." (U2.40)
An Edwardian classroom, boys in Eaton suits, that could have been Deasy's.
- How, sir? Comyn asked. A bridge is across a river." (U2.40)
An Edwardian classroom, boys in Eaton suits, that could have been Deasy's.
"For Haines's chapbook. No-one here to hear. Tonight deftly amid wild drink and talk, to pierce the polished mail of his mind." (U2.42)
"What then? A jester at the court of his master, indulged and disesteemed, winning a clement master's praise. Why had they chosen all that part? Not wholly for the smooth caress." (U2.43)
"For them too history was a tale like any other too often heard, their land a pawnshop." (U2.46)