“Ulythrees”: El número tres en el Ulysses de James Joyce.

Abstract

The special symbolism of numbers has been researched in Joyce’s oeuvre on various occasions. Nevertheless , critics seem to forget that Ulysses contains a great many triadic figures, which shows that the number three can be essential to understand this novel. This fact is reflected in its structure, the relationships among characters and even language. The reasons can be found in young Joyce’s readings of thinkers who regarded number three as a symbol for wholeness, such as Giordano Bruno, Tomas Aquinas and Dante. Number three is, to sum up, the symbol of the idea of wholeness that Joyce tries to convey in his novel.