James Joyce, the illustrious Irish novelist and a towering figure in modernist literature, had a tumultuous relationship with his eyesight throughout his life. His ocular troubles began at a young age; when Joyce was just six years old, he received his first pair of eyeglasses, marking the onset of a lifelong battle with vision issues. By the time he reached the age of 25, he had already suffered his first bout of iritisa notoriously painful and potentially blinding inflammation of the iris, the colored part of the eye. In a poignant tribute to his struggles, Joyce named his first daughter Lucia, in homage to the patron saint of those afflicted with eye ailments.

This early encounter with eye problems was only the beginning of Joyces long and daunting journey through a myriad of medical interventions. Over the years, he underwent a harrowing series of surgeries aimed at alleviating his persistent eye issues. These procedures included the removal of portions of his iris, reshaping of his pupil, and even the application of leeches directly onto his eyes in an archaic attempt to draw out excess fluid. To make matters worse, Joyce also underwent a drastic dental surgery where all of his teeth were extracted. This was based on the theory that his recurring episodes of iritis were linked to bacterial infections stemming from years of poor dental hygiene, a situation exacerbated by his struggles with poverty.

Following his seventh eye operation on December 5, 1925, Joyce experienced a significant setback. According to biographer Gordon Bowker, Joyce found himself in a state of despair, unable to perceive even the faintest lights. He was engulfed in constant pain from the operation and was left weeping uncontrollably. His mental state deteriorated rapidly; he became incredibly nervous and felt incapable of coherent thought. For a time, he was reliant on the kindness of others to assist him in navigating his surroundings, as he could no longer traverse the streets independently. Joyce spent his days in a deep depression, longing to write yet feeling utterly incapacitated.

By early 1926, however, there was a glimmer of hope as Joyce's vision began to recover somewhat in one eye. It was during this period, specifically around January, that he paid a visit to his friend Myron C. Nutting, an American painter who had his studio located in the vibrant Montparnasse district of Paris. In a moment meant to showcase his improving eyesight, Joyce took up a thick black pencil and scrawled a few hastily drawn squiggles on a piece of paper. Among these doodles was a caricature of the mischief-laden character Leopold Bloom, who serves as the protagonist in Joyce's most acclaimed work, Ulysses. To accompany the sketch, Joyce inscribed a passage in Greek, albeit with a minor spelling error, referencing the opening line of Homers Odyssey: Tell me, muse, of that man of many turns, who wandered far and wide.

It is worth noting that Joyces drawing of Bloom has made its way into the archives at the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections at Northwestern University. Nutting played a significant role in the biography of Joyce authored by Richard Ellmann, a distinguished professor at Northwestern. According to Scott Krafft, a curator at the library, Ellmann facilitated a deal in 1960 that allowed the library to acquire Nuttings oil paintings of James and his wife Nora Joyce, pastel drawings of their children Giorgio and Lucia, along with Joyces sketch of Bloom, for a total cost of $500. The attribution of the January 1926 date for the Bloom sketch derives from an article titled James Joyce a quick sketch, published in the July 1976 issue of Footnotes by the Northwestern University Library Council. Special thanks to Scott Krafft for shedding light on this intricate piece of Joyces legacy.

For those intrigued by Joyces life and works, there is a wealth of content available, including animations that introduce his life and literary contributions, analyses that explore what makes Ulysses a masterpiece, and even insights into his manuscript pages for Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. Furthermore, readers can access the original serialized edition of Ulysses, first published in 1918.