"We should, then, get rid of a double illusion and a double intimidation. (1) No truth can come from outside the Joycean community, without the experience, the cunning, and the knowledge amassed by highly trained readers. But (2) inversely, or symmetrically, there is no model for Joycean competence, no interiority and no closure possible to the concept of such competence. There is no absolute criterion for measuring the relevance of a discourse on the subject of a text signed by 'Joyce'" (UG 52).