Josie Breen Character Analysis in Ulysses

The baker Josie Breen is Leopold Bloom’s ex-girlfriend, who went on to marry the lunatic Denis Breen instead. When Bloom first meets her in the novel, he notes that she has aged poorly and looks disheveled, perhaps because of her stressful, thankless marriage to Denis. She first tells Bloom that Mrs. Purefoy is in the hospital, and she reappears in one of Bloom’s fantasies during “Circe” to reenact the time when they were dating. Many of the novel’s characters (including the Blooms) feel sorry for her because of her marriage, but during “Penelope,” Molly Bloom also speculates Leopold might be having an affair with her.

Josie Breen Character Timeline in Ulysses

The timeline below shows where the character Josie Breen appears in Ulysses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Bloom runs into Mrs. Breen , a baker and his ex-girlfriend. They exchange pleasantries, and Bloom explains that he has... (full context)

Irish Identity and Nationalism Theme Icon

...the men chat about Denis Breen and laugh at his absurd lawsuit. Bloom sympathizes with Mrs. Breen , who has to deal with her husband’s madness. The Breens pass by again on... (full context)

Religion, Atheism, and Philosophy Theme Icon

Bloom’s mind drifts to the question of whether good women like Mrs. Breen and Mrs. Dignam are unlucky to end up with lazy drunkards as husbands, or whether... (full context)

...bad intentions. He thinks of widows and widowers, and he marvels at the coincidence that Mrs. Breen is married to the lunatic Denis Breen, and not himself. He remembers Keyes’s ad and... (full context)

...began during a party at Georgina Simpson’s house, when Mrs. Breen was still the unmarried Josie Powell. (full context)

Bloom slips a ruby ring on Mrs. Breen ’s finger, but says that he was dismayed that she married Denis Breen instead of... (full context)

...yells out in pain, “Bright’s! Light’s!” Bloom warns that the navvy is a spy, and Mrs. Breen starts criticizing Bloom for his “humbugging and deluthering” (or deceptiveness). (full context)

...heckles them, Bloom offers to tell Mrs. Breen a secret. Once again pleasant and agreeable, Josie Breen agrees. Bloom reminisces about going to the races with Josie, Molly, and some other... (full context)

...Martha Clifford letter to the drawer and reflects on how lucky he was to meet Josie Breen, Nurse Callan, and Gerty MacDowell today. He imagines himself as a powerful, respectable man... (full context)

...chances with her husband than with Blazes Boylan. Molly wonders if Leopold’s affair is with Josie Powell (Breen), and she remembers that Leopold and Josie were together at Georgina Simpson’s party,... (full context)

Molly feels bad for Josie now: she’s stuck living with her lunatic husband Denis, who even wears his muddy boots... (full context)

...for breakfast in bed, too. She decides that he can’t be having an affair with Josie Breen, because he isn’t courageous enough to sleep with a married woman. Molly remembers how... (full context)