Sandymount Strand - Proteus

At Pan’s hour, the faunal noon, Stephen Dedalus is walking along Sandymount Strand thinking initially about the nature of being. This episode consists entirely of Stephen’s shifting thoughts. A recollection of William Blake leads him to think: “Am I walking into eternity along Sandymount strand?” He observes two women coming down the steps from Leahy’s terrace and reckons they are midwives. Although walking in the direction of his Aunt Sarah’s in Strasburg Terrace, he decides instead to continue towards the Pigeonhouse which triggers memories of his time in Paris and meeting Kevin Egan. After observing two cockle pickers by the shore, he writes a poem of a pale vampire in a storm. Having no paper, he tears the blank end off Mr Deasy’s letter to scribble down his verse.