"The Sisters"
“
Every night as I gazed up at the window I said to myself softly the word paralysis. It had always sounded strangely in my ears, like the word gnomon in the Euclid and the word simony in the Catechism. But now it sounded to me like the name of some maleficent and sinful being. It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work.
— James Joyce
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Every night as I gazed up at the window I said to myself softly the word paralysis. It had always sounded strangely in my ears, like the word gnomon in the Euclid and the word simony in the Catechism. But now it sounded to me like the name of some maleficent and sinful being. It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work." in the context of ""The Sisters"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "James Joyce" (Quotes, Dubliners (1914))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, short-story writer and poet. He contributed to the modernist movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the twentieth century.
About James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, short-story writer and poet. He contributed to the modernist movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the twentieth century.
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