Ulysses · Character

Zoe Higgins

A sharp-tongued prostitute in Bella Cohen's brothel who sizes up Bloom's secret longings and speaks the unspeakable in Nighttown's hallucinatory haze.

supporting

Also known as Zoe Higgins, Zoe, Higgins, Zoe Stiffly, Zoe Gaily, Zoe The devil, Zoe Yes, Zoe - Fanny, Zoe There, Zoe Lightly, Zoe Silent, Zoe Promptly

First appearance: xiv

As a supporting figure in Ulysses, Zoe Higgins is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Zoe interacts with Bloom in the brothel, teasing him and asking for a cigarette.

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Zoe works the parlor of Bella Cohen's establishment, where she trades barbs and caresses with equal fluency, reading clients faster than they can read themselves. She fixes on Bloom with unnerving accuracy, naming his hidden desires aloud in a voice that is part mockery, part mirror. Her presence turns the brothel from mere vice into a theater of exposed selves, making her essential to the novel's most transformative episode.

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The fuller portrait of Zoe Higgins sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Zoe Higgins in xiv

Character Web

53 connections

A slice of how Zoe Higgins sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Social
Other

Character groups

Dublin social network
Protagonist
Brothel fantasy figures

+48 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it reveals the protagonist’s psychological breaking point: his…

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Relationships

Stephen Dedalus
social · ambivalent
Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and… How this plays out →
Leopold Bloom
social · ambivalent
Vincent Lynch
social · ambivalent
Leopold Bloom
social · ambivalent
Stephen Dedalus
social · ambivalent
Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and… How this plays out →
Vincent Lynch
social · ambivalent
Stephen Dedalus
social · ambivalent
Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and… How this plays out →

Stephen Dedalus
Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and transactional within the brothel setting.
Leopold Bloom
Bloom interacts with Zoe in the brothel, where she teases and engages him in a flirtatious but impersonal manner.
Vincent Lynch
Vincent Lynch is a medical student who interacts with Zoe in the brothel, engaging in casual flirtation.
Leopold Bloom
Bloom interacts with Zoe in the brothel, where she teases and engages him in a flirtatious but impersonal manner.
Stephen Dedalus
Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and transactional within the brothel setting.
Vincent Lynch
Vincent Lynch is a medical student who interacts with Zoe in the brothel, engaging in casual flirtation.
Stephen Dedalus
Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and transactional within the brothel setting.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Zoe Higgins in xiv

In the story

Zoe Higgins appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Zoe Higgins unlock in the free preview.

See Zoe Higgins in xiv

See Zoe Higgins in XV