Chapter Eighteen of James Joyce’s Ulysses affords readers the opportunity to read the script of the lead female’s thoughts.  It is a map of the feminine mind, Molly’s mind, as drawn by Joyce. Marked by an oblique writing style, the chapter moves in undulating formations, ignoring the traditional forms of language in favor of a mode more like the actual pattern (or lack thereof) of human consciousness. In opposition to the traditional patriarchal forms of writing, Joyce’s Eighteen can be viewed as a new gender of writing, an attempt to give voice to the oppressed female in literature.

     Chapter Eighteen affords the reader insight into a character beyond that which has ever been given before.  Not only does one encounter symbolic images, the reader actually partakes in the formation of those images, privy to the inner symbolism which create their significance.  The reader actually witnesses the thoughts, associations, and memories which create the meaning of particular items embedded in Molly’s consciousness.

     Molly is apparently preoccupied with sex, religion, materialism, and the issue of fidelity.  It soon becomes clear that she is slightly obsessed, or at the least extremely preoccupied, with these aspects of her life. Though her thoughts drift seemingly without aim, she continually returns to these issues. 

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