Milly Bloom

The blond 15-year-old daughter of Leopold and Molly, their only surviving child.  Milly has been sent to Mullingar to work as a photographer’s assistant and seems to be developing a relationship with Alec Bannon; her burgeoning sexuality makes Bloom a little uncomfortable.  She only appears in the novel through a letter and in memory and reflection.

Molly Bloom

The voluptuous and flirtatious wife of Bloom.  Molly (whose full name is Marion, maiden name Tweedy) is a 33-year-old singer.  She was raised in Gibraltar by an Irish military man; her mother, Lunita Laredo, is a dim and exotic memory, possibly a dancer, possibly something more questionable.  She spends virtually the entire day in bed, first alone after Bloom leaves, then with her lover “Blazes” Boylan, and then during her nighttime monologue in the final chapter.

Rudy Bloom

Rudy died 11 years ago at the age of only 11 days.  Since his death, the Blooms have not had full sexual relations; both Blooms still mourn him, but in different ways and without really talking about it.  Leopold especially feels the absence of a son.  Rudy appears for the most part in memory and reflection.

Hugh “Blazes” Boylan

Boylan is Molly’s manager and soon-to-be lover; he is arranging her latest tour and they are using his needing to bring her new music as a cover story for their tryst later in the day.  He’s depicted as something of a player.  He first appears in “Calypso” as a “bold hand”:  Bloom discovers a letter from him in the hallway of 7 Eccles Street.  Bloom’s and Boylan’s paths intersect throughout the day as Bloom travels away from his house and Boylan travels towards it, but they never speak.

Major Brian Tweedy

Molly’s father, who appears in memory and reflection. It’s not completely clear what rank he really held, but it probably isn’t as high as Bloom remembers; Bloom seems to recall him as a rather masculine figure.  Tweedy raised his daughter during early childhood and adolescence in Gibraltar and then brought her to Dublin.

 

The Pussens

The Pussens is the Blooms’ rather vocal and demanding cat. She has a taste for kidney, milk, and mice. Leopold Bloom describes her as stupid, vindictive, and cruel, but he nevertheless treats her well.

 
The Pussens holds an instinctive fear of chickens and is an accomplished jumper, capable of jumping over Bloom’s head.

 

 

Old Mother Grogan

Ulysses-Grogan-1Mother Grogan is a mildly rude joke, characteristically brought up by Mulligan and quickly used to skewer Haines’ attitude toward Ireland and things Irish. Haines is collecting “exotic” Irish sayings and other folk esoterica, in the same way Bartok, Dvorak and Smetana collected ethnic folk tunes from the backwaters of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as modernity began to overtake these regions. The implied condescension is obvious, especially to Stephen. It is alright for he and Mulligan to run down Irish culture; it is quite another thing for an Englishman, citizen of the reigning colonial power, to do so, and Mulligan quickly satirizes Haines’ study, asking Stephen if he thinks Mother Grogan is mentioned in the Mabinogion or the Upanishads. Since these are, respectively, the national epics of Wales, another Celtic nation incorporated into Great Britain, and India, Britain’s leading colony, Haines is being ragged quite pointedly.

Continue reading