Lucia Anna Joyce (26 July 1907,

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

– 12 December 1982,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

) was a professional dancer and the daughter of Irish writer

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

and

Nora Barnacle Nora Barnacle (21 March 1884 – 10 April 1951) was the muse and wife of Irish author James Joyce. Barnacle and Joyce had their first romantic assignation in 1904 on a date celebrated worldwide as the "Bloomsday" of his modernist novel '' ...

. Once treated by Swiss psychiatrist

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...

, Joyce was diagnosed as schizophrenic in the mid-1930s and institutionalized at the

Burghölzli The ''Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Zürich'' (Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich) is a psychiatric hospital in Switzerland. As a research hospital, it is associated with the University of Zürich. It is also called Burghölzli, after th ...

psychiatric clinic in Zurich. In 1951, she was transferred to

St Andrew's Hospital St Andrews Hospital is a mental health facility in Northampton, England. It is managed by St Andrew's Healthcare. History Formation The facility was founded by public subscription for "private and pauper lunatics" and opened as the Northampton ...

in Northampton, where she remained until her death in 1982. She was the aunt of Stephen James Joyce.

Early life and career

Lucia Anna Joyce was born in the Ospedale Civico di Trieste on 26 July 1907. She was the second child of Irish writer

and his partner (later wife)

, after her brother Giorgio. As her parents were expatriates living in

, Lucia's first language was Italian. In her younger years, she trained as a dancer at the Dalcroze Institute in Paris. She studied dancing from 1925 to 1929, training first with Jacques Dalcroze, followed by Margaret Morris, and later with Raymond Duncan (brother of

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

) at his school near Salzburg. In 1927, Joyce danced a short duet as a toy soldier in

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

’s film adaptation of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

's "La Petite marchande d’allumettes" (

The Little Match Girl "The Little Match Girl" ( da, Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, meaning "The little girl with the sulphur-sticks", i.e. matches) is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dre ...

). She furthered her studies under Lois Hutton, Hélène Vanel, and Jean Borlin, lead dancer of the Ballet suédois. In 1928, she joined "Les Six de rythme et couleur," a commune of six female dancers that were soon performing at venues in France, Austria, and Germany. After a performance in La Princesse Primitive at the Vieux-Colombier theatre, the ''Paris Times'' wrote of her: "Lucia Joyce is her father’s daughter. She has James Joyce’s enthusiasm, energy, and a not-yet-determined amount of his genius. When she reaches her full capacity for rhythmic dancing, James Joyce may yet be known as his daughter’s father." On 28 May 1929, she was chosen as one of six finalists in the first international festival of dance in Paris held at the Bal Bullier. Although she did not win, the audience, which included her father and the young

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

, championed her performance as outstanding and loudly protested the jury’s verdict. It has been alleged that when Lucia was 21, she and Beckett (who was her father's secretary for a short time) became lovers. Their relationship lasted only a short while and ended after Beckett, who was involved with another woman at the time, admitted that his interest was actually in a professional relationship with James Joyce, not a personal one with Joyce's daughter. At the age of 22, Joyce, after years of rigorous dedication and long hours of practice, decided "she was not physically strong enough to be a dancer of any kind". Announcing she would become a teacher, she then "turned down an offer to join a group in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

and effectively gave up dancing." Her biographer Carol Shloss, however, argues that it was her father who finally put an end to her dancing career. James reasoned that the intense physical training for ballet caused her undue stress, which in turn exacerbated the long-standing animosity between her and her mother Nora. The resulting incessant domestic squabbles prevented work on ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...

''. James convinced her she should turn to drawing lettrines to illustrate his prose and forgo her deep-seated artistic inclinations. To his patron

Harriet Shaw Weaver Harriet Shaw Weaver (1 September 1876 – 14 October 1961) was an English political activist and a magazine editor. She was a significant patron of Irish writer James Joyce. Life Harriet Shaw Weaver was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, the sixth of e ...

, James Joyce wrote that this resulted in "a month of tears as she thinks she has thrown away three or four years of hard work and is sacrificing a talent".

Mental illness and later life

Lucia Joyce started to show signs of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

in 1930, including a time period during which she was involved with

, then a junior lecturer in English at the Ecole normale supérieure in Paris. In May 1930, while her parents were in Zurich, she invited Beckett to dinner, hoping "to press him into some kind of declaration."Bowker, 400. He flatly rejected her, explaining that he was only interested in her father and his writing. By 1934, she had participated in several affairs, with her drawing teacher

Alexander Calder Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his ...

, another expatriate artist Albert Hubbell, and Myrsine Moschos, assistant to

Sylvia Beach Sylvia may refer to: People *Sylvia (given name) *Sylvia (singer), American country music and country pop singer and songwriter *Sylvia Robinson, American singer, record producer, and record label executive *Sylvia Vrethammar, Swedish singer credi ...

of Shakespeare and Company. As the year wore on, her condition had deteriorated to the point that James had

take her in as a patient. Soon after, she was diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

at the

psychiatric clinic in Zurich. In 1936, James consented to have his daughter undergo blood tests at

in Northampton. After a short stay, Lucia Joyce insisted she return to Paris, the doctors explaining to her father that she could not be prevented from doing so unless he had her committed. James told his closest friends that "he would never agree to his daughter being incarcerated among the English."Bowker, 482. Lucia Joyce returned to stay with

Maria Jolas Maria Jolas (January 12, 1893 – March 4, 1987), born Maria McDonald, was one of the founding members of ''transition'' in Paris with her husband Eugene Jolas. Life Jolas was born in Louisville, Kentucky,transition'' editor

Eugene Jolas John George Eugène Jolas (October 26, 1894 – May 26, 1952) was a writer, translator and literary critic. Early life John George Eugène Jolas was born October 26, 1894, in Union Hill, New Jersey (what is today Union City, New Jersey). His par ...

, in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

. After three weeks, her condition worsened and she was taken away in a

straitjacket A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer slides their arms into the ...

to the Maison de Santé Velpeau in Vésinet. Considered a danger to both staff and inmates, she was left in isolation. Two months later, she entered the ''maison de santé'' of François Achille Delmas at

Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Paris's main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the co ...

. In 1951, Joyce was again transferred to St Andrew's Hospital. Over the years, she received visits from Beckett, Sylvia Beach,

Frank Budgen Frank Spencer Curtis Budgen (1 March 1882 – 26 April 1971) was an English painter, writer and socialist activist acquainted with the author James Joyce. Life Born in Crowhurst, Surrey, Budgen spent six years at sea before working in London ...

, Maria Jolas, and Harriet Shaw Weaver who acted as her guardian. In 1962, Beckett donated his share of the royalties from his 1929 contributory essay on ''Finnegans Wake'' in ''

Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress ''Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress'' is a 1929 collection of critical essays, and two letters, on the subject of James Joyce's book ''Finnegans Wake'', then being published in discrete sections under th ...

'' to help pay for her confinement at St Andrew's. In 1982, Lucia Joyce had a stroke and died on 12 December of that year. She is buried in

Kingsthorpe Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of ...

Cemetery. Each year on

Bloomsday Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his 1922 novel '' Ulysses'' takes place in 1904, the date of his first sexual encounter with his ...

(16 June) extracts from James Joyce's ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' and other readings related to his life and works are read at Lucia Anna Joyce's graveside. In 2018 on Bloomsday, ''Letters to Lucia'', a play written by Richard Rose and James Vollmar in which characters from Lucia's life, including Samuel Beckett, Kathleen Neel, Nora Barnacle/Joyce and Joyce himself appear, was performed by the Triskellion Irish Theatre Company at the graveside.

Legacy

Her mental state, and documentation related to it, is the subject of a 2003 study (''Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake'') by Carol Loeb Shloss, who believes Lucia Joyce to have been her father's

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

for ''

''. Making heavy reference to the letters between Joyce and her father, the study became the subject of a

copyright misuse Copyright misuse is an equitable defence to copyright infringement in the United States based upon the doctrine of unclean hands. The misuse doctrine provides that the copyright holder engaged in abusive or improper conduct in exploiting or enforc ...

suit by the James Joyce estate. On 25 March 2007, this litigation was resolved in Shloss's favour. Professor John McCourt, of the

University of Macerata The University of Macerata ( it, Università degli Studi di Macerata) is a public university located in Macerata, Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe that are still functioning.https://thefunkonme.com/top-10-oldest-universities- ...

, a prize-winning Joyce scholar, trustee of the International James Joyce Foundation, and co-founder and director of the International James Joyce symposium held at

, wrote in ''A Companion to Literary Biography'' (ed. Robert Bradford, Wiley Blackwell, 2019) that Shloss, in her "sometimes obsessive" book, "seeks very deliberately to depose Nora (Joyce's wife) as Joyce's chief muse... in doing so, it overplays its hand with exaggerated claims about Lucia's genius and about her importance to Joyce's creative process and vindictively harsh judgments on most members of the Joyce family and circle"; the book's "most damaging legacy is the cottage industry of derivative versions of Lucia that it has helped to spawn... the key source for a whole series of writings about Lucia that uncomfortably mix fact and fiction" including ''The Joyce Girl'' (2016) by

Annabel Abbs Annabel Abbs (born 20 October 1964) is an English writer and novelist. Early life The daughter of poet and academic, Professor Peter Abbs and gardening writer, Barbara Abbs, Annabel Abbs lives in London and East Sussex. She is the eldest of th ...

, of which McCourt wrote "With Abbs, the perverse cycle of interest in Lucia comes full circle. We are back in the territory of fiction fraudulently posing as biography"; he considered the book "a prime contender for the worst Joyce-inspired 'biography' ever". The book was also the subject of criticism in the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

and

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

regarding the author's "unsubstantiated speculations" regarding incest between Lucia and her brother, and the sources of her mental illness. In 1988, Stephen Joyce had all the letters written by Lucia that he received upon her death in 1982 destroyed. Stephen Joyce stated in a letter to the editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that "Regarding the destroyed correspondence, these were all personal letters from Lucia to us. They were written many years after both Nonno and Nonna .e., Mr. and Mrs. Joycedied and did not refer to them. Also destroyed were some postcards and one telegram from

to Lucia. This was done at Sam's written request." In 2004, Lucia Joyce's life was the subject of ''Calico'', a West End play written by Michael Hastings, and, in 2012, of the graphic novel '' Dotter of Her Father's Eyes'' by

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequel '' Heart of Empire'', as well as the ''Grandville'' series of books. He collaborated ...

. A play exploring her life, titled ''L,'' was performed to a limited audience in Concord Academy from 14 April to 16 April 2016. It was written and directed by Sophia Ginsburg. 2016 saw the release of Annabel Abbs's

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fiction ...

, ''The Joyce Girl''; in 2018, she was the subject of a novel by

Alex Pheby Alex Pheby (born 1970) is a British author and academic. He is currently a professor at Newcastle University and lives in Scotland. He studied at Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Goldsmiths. and UEA. Career Pheby' ...

, titled ''Lucia''.Sansom, Ian (12 July 2018)
"Lucia by Alex Pheby review – in search of James Joyce’s daughter"
''The Guardian''. Lucia Joyce is the protagonist of the "Round the Bend" chapter of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

's 2016 novel ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. S''et at the Northampton clinic where she spent her final years, the chapter is written in the style of her father's ''Finnegans Wake''.

References

Notes.

Bibliography

* Patry, William (2006),
The Patry Copyright Blog: Copyright's Wake
(concerning research done on Lucia as Joyce's muse). Retrieved 28 August 2015 * Shloss, Carol Loeb. ''Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake''. Farrar, Straus, and Girous, New York, 2003.

External links

Collection of articles and reviews.
Resolution of the litigation
Retrieved 9 December 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Lucia 1907 births 1982 deaths People with schizophrenia