# Mrs Breen — Ulysses character guide

> Mrs Breen in Ulysses by James Joyce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs Breen, Mr and Mrs L. M. Bloom, Mr Bloom, Mrs Breen, old Bloom, L. Bloom, Mr L. Bloom, Mrs Breen Mr Bloom

**First appearance:** 0004-ii

## Snapshot

Molly Bloom's old friend, married to the hapless Denis Breen, whose chance encounter with Bloom on the street stirs memories, gossip, and a flicker of old intimacy.

## Who they are

Mrs Breen buttonholes Bloom on the street with news of her husband's lawsuit and her own faded glamour, her hat flickering in the sun as she talks. She remembers Bloom from years ago, when he and Molly were young and she was Josie Powell, and her chatter carries the weight of what might have been. Her brief scene matters because it shows Bloom's past pressing on his present, and because her warmth and gossip offer a glimpse of the ordinary social world he navigates with such careful courtesy.

## In the story

### [Penelope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xviii)

Mentioned as Josie Powell; Molly recalls her and other acquaintances.

## Links

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