This book is the first full-length study of Joyce's critique of utopian and messianic thinking. Drawing on a close reading of the fictional text and the intertextual consideration of a rich variety of historical and contemporary documents (from "The Bible" to "The United Irishman"), it examines the manifestations of political, national, religious and subjective promises. It shows that, in 'Ulysses', utopian ideas fail to sustain dissent, political hopes, eschatological beliefs and individual desires. The study reaches well beyond its subject, contributing to an understanding of the political views of the author and touching on essential problems of Joyce's writing, such as the politics of narrative, the function of the intertextual allusions and Irish nationalism. Exploring these questions, the book also discusses a number of established arguments in Joyce criticism.