# Leopold Bloom — Ulysses character guide > Leopold Bloom in Ulysses by James Joyce. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Mr Leopold Bloom, Mr Bloom, Bloom, Henry Flower, Leopold, Poldy, Henry, leopold, Leo, Bloom Nes, Bloom Laughing witch, Sir Leopold, sir Leopold **First appearance:** 0004-ii ## Snapshot A courteous Dublin advertising canvasser with a wandering eye and a tender heart, Bloom drifts through one June day carrying private griefs and small, stubborn kindnesses. ## Who they are Bloom moves through the city as an outsider—Jewish in Catholic Dublin, cuckolded in his own mind, dodging acquaintances who want favors and funerals. He mourns a dead son, worries over his wife's coming tour, and finds odd comfort in soap, kidneys, and the shape of a woman's hat. His ordinary errands and extraordinary inner weather make him the novel's compass: unheroic, humane, and quietly heroic. ## Relationships ### [Stephen Dedalus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/stephen_dedalus) _friendship_ Bloom acts as a paternal, compassionate figure to Stephen, offering him kindness and guidance throughout their night together. ### [Joe Hynes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/joe_hynes) _social_ Joe Hynes is a journalist and acquaintance of Bloom, often discussing politics and mutual acquaintances in the pub. ### [Zoe Higgins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/zoe_higgins) _social_ Bloom interacts with Zoe in the brothel, where she teases and engages him in a flirtatious but impersonal manner. ### [Lynch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/lynch) _social_ Lynch is a medical student and companion of Stephen; Bloom observes him as a cynical, detached figure in the brothel scene. ### [Molly Bloom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/molly_bloom) _family_ Bloom and Molly are married, but their relationship is strained by emotional distance and Molly's affair with Blazes Boylan. ### [Mrs Purefoy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/mrs_purefoy) _social_ Bloom visits Mrs. Purefoy in the maternity hospital, showing his compassionate concern for her difficult labor. ### [Paddy Dignam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/paddy_dignam) _social_ Paddy Dignam is a deceased acquaintance of Bloom, whose funeral Bloom attends and whose family Bloom later helps. ### [Blazes Boylan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/blazes_boylan) _rivalry_ Blazes Boylan is Molly's lover, and Bloom is painfully aware of their affair, feeling cuckolded and humiliated. ### [Joe Hynes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/joe_hynes) _social_ Joe Hynes is a journalist and acquaintance of Bloom, often discussing politics and mutual acquaintances in the pub. ### [Zoe Higgins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/zoe_higgins) _social_ Bloom interacts with Zoe in the brothel, where she teases and engages him in a flirtatious but impersonal manner. ### [Molly Bloom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/molly_bloom) _family_ Bloom and Molly are married, but their relationship is strained by emotional distance and Molly's affair with Blazes Boylan. ### [Stephen Dedalus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/stephen_dedalus) _friendship_ Bloom acts as a paternal, compassionate figure to Stephen, offering him kindness and guidance throughout their night together. ## In the story ### [Calypso](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/iv) Bloom wakes, prepares breakfast, reads a letter from Milly, visits the butcher, and muses on metempsychosis and mortality. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/v) Main perspective; reads Martha's letter, attends mass, muses on his father's death and his wife Molly. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/vi) Attends Paddy Dignam's funeral, reflects on death and memory, interacts with other mourners. ### [Aeolus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/vii) Visits the newspaper office to arrange an ad for Keyes, proposing the 'House of Keys' design. ### [Lestrygonians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/viii) Protagonist; wanders through Dublin, observes the city, and reflects on life, death, and memory. ### [Wandering Rocks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/x) Mr Bloom browses in a bookshop, reads from 'Sweets of Sin', and purchases the book. ### [Chapter XI: Sirens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xi) Bloom sits in the Ormond Hotel bar, listening to music, reflecting on love and desire, and thinking of Molly and Martha. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xii) Arrives at Barney Kiernan's pub, is mocked and criticized by the Citizen and others, and attempts to discuss capital punishment scientifically. ### [Nausicaa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xiii) Rests on the strand, observes Gerty and the other girls, reflects on memory and desire, writes in the sand, and falls into a half-dream. ### [Oxen of the Sun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xiv) Present at the hospital, quietly reflective; thinks of his son Rudy, his daughter Milly, and his own father Rudolph. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xv) Bloom is the central figure of this hallucinatory sequence, appearing as a lord mayor, messianic figure, and tender guardian over Stephen. ### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvi) Bloom is concerned for Stephen's well-being, reflecting on his own past political sympathies and the risks of bringing Stephen home. He offers Stephen cocoa and a place to sleep. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvii) Returns home with Stephen, forgets his latchkey, urinates in the garden, reflects on past companions and the cosmos. ### [Penelope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xviii) Molly's husband; she reflects on his habits, their marriage, and his request for breakfast in bed. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/leopold_bloom - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters