Nathan Monson

12/6/20

ENGL 5771

Power Dynamics in Leopold Bloom’s Relationships with Gerty, Martha, and Molly

Leopold Bloom of Ulysses is a married man being cuckolded by his wife, Molly Bloom,

while he goes about his day. During his day he receives a racy letter from Martha Clifford calling

him a naughty boy, masturbates to Gerty MacDowell on the beach, and returns home to Molly

Bloom. This simplistic summary of Bloom’s day and the encounters he has with these women is

far from complete and lacking important context. To summarize the events in this way implies

that Bloom is in control of these encounters. On the contrary, Bloom is lacking in control.

Martha’s letter is riddled with demands. Gerty notices Bloom and allows him to continue. Molly

sees a returned Bloom after having finished her affair with Boylan. This is another simplistic

summary. The relationships between Bloom and these three women are incredibly complex, each

one of them raising questions about how much power Bloom has and how much power women

as a whole have. The aim of this paper is not to offer simplistic summaries or answers, but to

begin conversations regarding the role of men and women, specifically between Bloom and his

love interests. While it may seem like Bloom has no control and is totally submissive, that isn’t

to say that the women have all the power. Being victims of the patriarch, women inherently hold

less power than men. However, women in Ulysses are routinely placed in positions of power and

control, yet even still are confined to the patriarchal system. Bloom’s submissiveness shows the

nature of the patriarchy, as these women have power over him, and he remains in charge. James

Joyce uses Leopold Bloom’s three love interests—Gerty, Martha, and Molly—to display the
power dynamics between men and women in a patriarchal society by putting a submissive man

into situations of powerlessness with empowered women.

Gerty MacDowell, the lame woman surrounded by her family on the beach as fireworks

are shot off, is the only woman to sexually engage with Leopold Bloom during Ulysses. The

encounter occurs as Bloom walks down towards the beach where Gerty and her family are

playing. There, Bloom spots Gerty and begins masturbating to her presence. Gerty, totally aware

of his actions, remains where she is and teases him, allowing him to see more and more of her

body. The encounter ends with the explosion of fireworks and orgasms for both Bloom and

Gerty. The climax of Bloom and Gerty and the fireworks is described in the sentence, “And then

a rocket sprang and bang shot blind blank and O! then the Roman candle burst and it was like a

sigh of O! and everyone cried O!” (300). Upon climaxing, Gerty gets up and walks away to be

with her family where it is revealed she has a limp. Noticing the limp, Bloom says, “Glad I

didn’t know it when she was on show” (301). The phrasing here is worth noting. Bloom

describes Gerty as “on show”. Rather than saying “Glad I didn’t know it when I was watching

her”, or any other phrasing that puts Bloom in control of the situation, Bloom puts Gerty in total

control. By being “on show”, Gerty is able to decide what gets included in the show, as described

in the climactic paragraph, “he could see her other things too…and she let him and she saw that

he saw” (300). Bloom isn’t doing or seeing anything that isn’t included in Gerty’s show. To say

that Gerty is “on show” is to imply consent. A show consists of the performer, who is acting in

accordance with their agency, and the audience, who is viewing in accordance with their agency.

This is further illustrated by noting the change in perspective as the episode continues.

“Nausicaa” begins through the point of view of Gerty MacDowell and concludes through

the eyes of Leopold Bloom. Joyce’s use of shifting perspective makes clear the question of
consent. The reader is able to observe Gerty’s point of view and see everything she does to

continue and enhance the remote sexual encounter, while after the climax, the reader is able to

observe Bloom’s. This dual perspective offers the reader insight into both Gerty’s and Bloom’s

minds, allowing the understanding of a consensual performance. Here, we note again the

importance of Gerty being “on show” and return to the topic of Gerty having control over the

situation. If Bloom is an audience member to Gerty’s show, then Bloom has no control over the

“show”. It is the performer, not the audience, that holds total control over the “show”. Afterall,

it’s Gerty who allows Bloom to let him see her and allows him to continue masturbating to her.

To further elucidate the point, Gerty could have stopped being “on show” at any time. Had she

wanted to, Gerty could have gotten up, revealed her limp, and walked away and still remained in

control. Gerty remained “on show” until they both achieved the desired end result. After their

climaxes and the simultaneous explosion of fireworks, Gerty gets up and leaves. Why didn’t she

stick around and meet her mysterious lover? Throughout the novel, Bloom’s loves are fleeting.

Gerty leaves upon climax. Though Bloom may not have even wanted to meet her, it was Gerty

who made the decision to leave, thereby withholding the choice from Bloom. The “Nausicaa”

episode highlights Bloom’s complete lack of romantic control. It is Gerty who chooses to allow

the sexual encounter to continue, and it is Gerty who chooses to end the encounter. Gerty’s

freedom is countered with Bloom’s lack of control and submission.

Despite his lack of control and submission, it is Bloom who utters the words, “No, a

thousand times no” (300), after his romp with Gerty. Bloom shames himself, “An utter cad he

had been!” (300), and then asks the question, “Should a girl tell?” (300). In other words, should

Gerty tell everyone about Bloom’s deplorable act? In the same paragraph, Gerty is described as

“A fair unsullied soul” (300). It’s the deification of Gerty and the humiliation of himself that
takes Bloom out of control. Because Bloom views his acts as demonstrable and Gerty as an

“unsullied soul”, even though she was just as active a participant as he was, the burden of guilt

falls onto Bloom. As a married man, Bloom is at the mercy of Gerty to not spread the news

around town that he pleasured himself to her. Gerty is in control of the story and is free to tell it

how she pleases. However, in the end it’s Bloom who denies Gerty. Should a girl tell of the

affair, thereby preserving their brief sexual encounter and making it anything more than brief?

No, a thousand times no. But is Bloom really in control of what she does? Bloom’s denial is

more wishful thinking than anything else. Maybe a girl shouldn’t tell, but that doesn’t mean she

won’t. The ultimate show of power comes when Gerty leaves first. “Slowly, without looking

back she went down the uneven strand” (301) and avoids being pigeonholed by Bloom.

However, it’s unfair to say that Gerty really has true power over Bloom. Afterall, Gerty is

disabled and therefore is likely unable to attract a husband in 1920’s Ireland. Gerty’s power

comes from within the patriarchy, and as such it is not true power and control. Bloom, being a

man in a patriarchy, has at least some power. Despite Bloom’s gratitude towards Gerty for not

exposing her limp until after his orgasm, he thinks about how that wouldn’t have changed

anything by saying, “Hot little devil all the same. I wouldn’t mind” (301). Bloom, regardless of

whether or not Gerty had a limp, still would have pleasured himself to her. It’s also worth asking

why Gerty even allowed him to masturbate in the first place. Man’s insistence that women need

them is a driving force in 1920’s Ireland. Because Gerty is lame, her likelihood of finding a man

is minimal. Gerty, desiring a man—like the rest of the women in the novel—took this

opportunity to have her own sexual experience, despite whoever the man was. If having a partner

wasn’t so important to the women in Ulysses, Gerty may not have decided to stick around for
Bloom. While Gerty may have power and control in that she allows herself to be “on show”, the

power and control she has is influenced by men such as Bloom.

Before Gerty MacDowell, Leopold Bloom is confronted with another romantic interest:

Martha Clifford. In “Lotus Eaters”, we learn that Bloom has taken out a wanted ad in the

newspaper for a typist. Martha responded to the ad, and from there they began a correspondence.

The letter shown in Ulysses contains sentences such as, “Remember if you do not I will punish

you” (63) and “do not deny my request before my patience is exhausted” (64), as well as several

other instances of demanding language. Even in this situation where Bloom should have some

level of control, he’s still just as submissive and out of control. Afterall, Bloom has the ability to

ignore the letter and simply forget that the correspondence with Martha ever happened. In the

same vein, Bloom could just have easily decided to walk away from Gerty. Instead, the letter

remains on Bloom’s mind throughout the day, making him a prisoner to Martha’s advances. For

example, after his encounter with Gerty, Bloom asks, “Where did I put that letter?” (301), in

reference to the letter from Martha. Martha’s power over Bloom in the form of thought. Her

letter, and what she wrote, stay on his mind all day. However, like with Gerty, it’s important to

question the degree to which Martha has power.

Unfortunately, the only glimpse into Martha’s mind is through the singular letter Bloom

reads in Ulysses. Through this letter, however, is some crucial insight into the level of power and

control she has. The letter begins with Martha thanking Bloom, who is known to Martha as

Henry, for the previous letter. This act of gratitude shows Martha’s reliance on these letters.

Following, Martha apologizes and says, “I am sorry you did not like my last letter” (63).

Together, these sentences show Martha’s emotional involvement in her correspondence with

Bloom. She’s grateful to receive a much anticipated letter from him and sorry that he didn’t like
her previous letter. Seeing her investment in these letters, we can say that she wouldn’t want

them to end, thus illustrating the lack of total power and control Martha has over Bloom. Yes, the

letter torments Bloom throughout the day, and he hopes his wife never finds out. However,

Bloom exerts a similar power over Martha, as she would feel hurt if he decided to suddenly stop

writing. The power dynamic between Bloom and Martha is much more of a give and take

compared to the dynamic between Bloom and Gerty. While Bloom and Martha each have some

sort of explicit power in their relationship, Bloom and Gerty share an unequal implicit and

explicit power dynamic. Gerty holds explicit power and control by letting Bloom see her, while

Bloom holds implicit power by simply being a man in a patriarchal society. Clearly, Bloom

holds the same implicit power over Martha, but without knowing more about her and who she is,

we can’t say to what extent Bloom’s implicit power reaches.

Molly Bloom, Leopold Bloom’s wife, is the most complex of Bloom’s love interests.

Molly’s introduction in Ulysses is the sound “Mn” (46), followed by “No. She didn’t want

anything” (46). Contrasting her introduction is her conclusion at the end of “Penelope”, where

her final words are, “yes I said yes I will Yes” (644). While her introduction appears to be in

response to Bloom asking her if she wanted anything for breakfast, we can rethink her denial of

Bloom in terms of the scope of the novel. Later in the novel we learn that Molly and Bloom

haven’t had sex since the death of their son, about eleven years earlier. Furthermore, we learn

that Molly will begin her affair with Boylan that day, and so having sex, not with Bloom but,

with another man. With this new information, Molly’s “No” can now be read as a denial of

Bloom himself, not just his inquiry about breakfast. It’s also worth noting that Molly’s denial

isn’t just the reader’s first look at Molly, but also Bloom’s. Bloom begins his day with denial

from his wife. Not only is there a sexual aspect to her “No”, but there is also a home rule aspect
to her denial. Molly doesn’t want anything from the butcher and therefore doesn’t need Bloom to

return home. Had Molly asked him to get something for her, Bloom would have a specific reason

to come home. This is further illustrated when Bloom leaves his keys at home and is sentenced to

a day away as not to disturb Molly. However, Molly’s denial of Bloom shifts upon his arrival

home late at night.

After a long day wandering the streets of Dublin, Leopold Bloom returns home to his

wife, who just had sex for the first time in eleven years—and not with her husband. The first

thoughts we get into Molly’s stream of consciousness are, “Yes because he never did a thing like

that before” (609). Notice how Molly’s first thoughts in the novel begin with “no,” and her final

first thoughts begin with “yes.” Something happened during the day to reverse her original denial

of Bloom. Interestingly enough, what sparked this initial confirmation of Bloom was him taking

charge and asking to get his breakfast in bed. Here, Bloom is taking charge and displaying power

and control. The day began with Bloom leaving his home to go get breakfast and is ending with

Bloom telling Molly what he wants for breakfast and that he wants it in bed, all without asking

her what she wants. We see here that Molly’s shift from denial to confirmation coincides with

Blooms shift from submission to dominance. Throughout the novel, Molly exercises staunchly

explicit power over Bloom. It is Molly’s affair and her denial of Bloom that occupies much of

his mind for the day. Bloom is at his most submissive in his relationship with Molly. Despite

Molly’s power over Bloom being so explicit and clear, this doesn’t mean Molly has complete

and total power and control. Much of her power and control comes from her sexuality, which is

entirely reliant on other men. As Bloom goes about his day, he gets confronted several times by

previous lovers of Molly’s and lewd comments about her. Bloom is affected by each of these

instances, as they remind him of the coming affair with Boylan. Speaking of which, the largest
portion of Molly’s power comes from her affair with Boylan. It’s this affair that keeps Bloom

walking the streets, anxious. If Molly’s power over her husband comes from other men, is that

truly power? Molly is continually at the mercy of other men in regard to the dominant role she

plays in her marriage to Bloom.

Throughout Ulysses, Bloom’s love interests—Gerty, Martha, and Molly—play pivotal

roles in emphasizing his submissiveness and lack of control, while highlighting the power

dynamics between men and women. Bloom’s obsession with women and sexuality is what traps

him and beats him into submission, so much so that an imaginary trial is held for him in

“Circe1”. While it’s true that sex holds Bloom hostage, it also sets him free by the end of the

novel. Bloom spends the entire day stressed out and anxious about Molly’s affair with Boylan.

Alongside these thoughts are Bloom’s reminiscences of the times he was sexually active with his

wife, Molly. Bloom returns home to Molly, post affair, more dominant and in control than when

he left that same morning. Following his shift away from submission is Molly’s affirmation of

Bloom. Because Molly’s dominance over Bloom comes from her sexuality and what other men

think of her, she’s at the behest of the patriarchy. With this in mind, as well as the nature of

Bloom’s relationships with Gerty and Martha, it’s worth raising the question if the women in

Ulysses are completely and utterly powerless by virtue of being written by a man. These women

are so hypersexualized that it makes one wonder if they’re just the object of male fantasy. Gerty

puts herself “on show” so Bloom can masturbate. Martha and Bloom exchange highly erotic

letters. Molly is the object of fantasy for almost every single man in the novel and has an affair

with Boylan. The positions of power women are placed in are all sexualized; meaning that their

power comes from the power men give them. Even in a novel where women are placed into a

1
A longer paper would discuss the trial and the many other encounters Bloom has with women in the episode, as
well as the several encounters he has with other women throughout the novel.
position of power over a man, the continual objectification they undergo throughout the work

strips them of any true power they might hold.

 Works Cited

1. Joyce, J. (1993). Ulysses (1109987144 839156034 H. W. Gabler & 1109987145

839156034 M. Groden, Eds.). New York, NY: Vintage Books.