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Bahnhofstrasse
by James Joyce
The eyes that mock me sign the way
Whereto I pass at eve of day.
Grey way whose violet signals are
The trysting and the twining star.
Ah star of evil! star of pain!
Highhearted youth comes not again
Nor old heart’s wisdom yet to know
The signs that mock me as I go.
______________________
I really love James Joyce’s poetry. I could sit and muse over the first line here for a long time, mining its depths because lacking context, it feels rich in meaning and simultaneously elusive. I feel as though I have some advantage in understanding this one, though, because the poet shared an affliction with which I am personally familiar – terrible eyesight. That’s my interpretation of the line and the poem, anyway. When your eyes stop working properly, the feeling of that is an intense contradiction. They work against you and actively obstruct your sense of direction and your very autonomy. Yet… they guide the way for you. You depend on them still.
The internet tells me that Mr. Joyce suffered from uveitis and glaucoma. If it effected him as it does many other people, then the condition is at its worst near dawn and dusk. Knowing that, we can infer some personal meaning (for him) in the lines of the poem. We see a lot of directional conflict in the work.
He tells us in line 3 that the way is gray, but the signals are violet, trysting, and twining. The almost bewildering and vivid imagery of this couplet is intentionally disorienting – just as the Speaker is disoriented. It’s worth noting, too, that Joyce’s use of “star” is likely an intentional reference to his condition. Glaucoma is sometimes referred to in German as “grüner Star.” The title of the poem – Bahnhofstrasse – clues us in that the Irish Joyce almost certainly knew the German term for his condition. One of the symptoms of glaucoma is the presence of halos, or rainbow colored rings around lights.
The 3rd stanza/couplet addresses the “star” directly. This is further confirmation that the star he’s referring to is his eye condition, as he refers to it as evil and a source of pain (almost certainly both physical, as well as mental/emotional.) He knows there isn’t a cure, or the likelihood of improvement, so he finishes the couplet missing his youth when the problem wasn’t so bad.
The genius of Joyce here though is that this imagery and use of language are not limiting his words to himself. ‘Star’ does not have to only be a reference to his glaucoma. It can symbolize any and all types of personal struggles that cannot be overcome. Stars – whether a direct reference to a specific eye condition or not – are also a symbolic reference to one’s sense of guidance and direction because humans used stars to navigate for centuries. Further, most of humanity eventually ends up feeling nostalgia for their youth, and for a time of better health and well-being. We don’t always arrive to that feeling on the same way though. Yet the path of struggle – the metaphorical Bahnhofstrasse – is one we all end up taking if we are fortunate enough to live long enough.
The last stanza is a reference to the Speaker’s feeling that his struggles are occurring too soon, and before he has had the chance to obtain an old heart’s wisdom. This makes sense. They are also obstructing his ability to obtain wisdom. If your disability prevents you from having the experiences that you hope to have, how can you learn? You’re denied participation in the experiences from which wisdom is derived. Perhaps being forced to experience life differently imbues Joyce with an alternative wisdom, but he isn’t focused on that in this piece.
Put it another way: Joyce’s glaucoma not only keeps him from navigating the street effectively, it also keeps him from learning about the street. You can apply that limitation to his life more broadly.
For a great reading of the poem, and a more detailed analysis thereof, I definitely encourage you to check out the following video:
