Dependency in Romantic Relationships: Bloom’s Other in Ulysses

Authors

Lydia SmaciarzFollow

Abstract

Project Mentor(s): Christopher Schedler, PhD

James Joyce’s Ulysses explores themes of love, grief, religion, culture, and identity while following the journey of Leopold Bloom, a husband and father who has a problematic sense of Self. Bloom’s difficulty to find himself is prominently shown through his relationship with his wife, Molly, with whom he no longer has a healthy romantic relationship. Bloom reminisces on several memories with Molly which expose the reason for his lack of Self – his dependence on Molly. This presentation applies Jacques Lacan’s concept of “The Mirror Stage” to Bloom’s nostalgic memories of Molly in Ulysses. “The Mirror Stage” addresses the Self, the Other, and the Self’s dependence on the Other to establish one’s own being. In this case, Molly is Bloom’s Other, and therefore, he relies on her for a whole sense of Self. The nostalgic episodes that Bloom has throughout the novel are not an escape to a more pleasurable time in his life, but rather a longing for a time where he had a firm sense of Self due to the conscious gaze of the Other, Molly. By the end of the novel Bloom has begun to detach himself from Molly and consequently regain a whole sense of Self without her consistent gaze. Exploring Molly as Bloom’s mirror emphasizes that self-identity becomes problematic when there is excessive dependency in a romantic relationship.

SOURCE Form ID

60

Recommended Citation

Smaciarz, Lydia (2025) "Dependency in Romantic Relationships: Bloom’s Other in Ulysses," Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression: Vol. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/jsource/vol1/iss1/7