James Joyce’s "Ulysses" features a large number of the spaces that Michel
Foucault refers to as heterotopias, places which are said to exist in reality,
but which are somehow outside of all space, such as the library, the cemetery,
and the brothel. However, despite much critical attention, the heterotopia
remains notoriously ill-defined. This essay looks to explain some of
the inconsistencies that exist in Foucault’s writings on the subject by
restoring the concept to its literary origins, and to subsequently address the
importance of these sites to Joyce’s understanding of the Irish nation, and
the concept of nationhood in general. It is my contention that the heterotopia
is primarily a textual concept, and that by employing it Joyce manages
to undermine the seemingly well-defined topography of his novel, as
well as the notion of a united Ireland.
