Zoe Higgins Character Analysis in Ulysses

Zoe is a young prostitute who works in Bella Cohen’s brothel in nighttown with Florry Talbot and Kitty Ricketts. She first attracts Bloom, grabs his lucky potato out of his pocket, and brings him into the brothel, where he finds Stephen and Lynch. Later, she also reads Bloom and Stephen’s palms. When Bloom’s grandfather Lipoti Virag appears to him in a vision, he points out that Zoe isn’t wearing any underwear and has an injection mark on her thigh. Bloom sometimes feels attracted to Zoe and sometimes protective of her. Curiously, Bloom’s mother was also named Higgins, which further suggests that Zoe partially represents his struggle to separate family from sex.

Zoe Higgins Character Timeline in Ulysses

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

...flying around his head, with cutesy messages for him. He hears church music and meets Zoe Higgins, a young prostitute, who reports that Stephen and Lynch are inside Mrs. Cohen’s brothel.... (full context)

Zoe asks for a cigarette, but Bloom explains that he doesn’t smoke. She invites him to... (full context)

Zoe reappears and tells Bloom to “talk away till [he’s] black in the face.” Bloom briefly... (full context)

...in a slick American accent and yelling at God (or “Mr. President”) about whether Florry, Zoe, and Kitty are devout enough. Each of the women reveals when they first had sex.... (full context)

Lynch tosses Zoe a cigarette, then starts lifting up her skirt. She’s not wearing any underwear, but he... (full context)

Zoe reports that a priest came to visit her, and Lipoti Virag responds that this is... (full context)

...opens a door, leaves the brothel, and lingers on the stairs outside. Bloom instinctively offers Zoe some chocolate and starts wondering whether the man was Boylan. Bloom imagines himself in a... (full context)

...immortals are “stonecold and pure,” and Bloom confesses more sins. Meanwhile, Kitty, Florry, Lynch, and Zoe comment that one of the cushions is hot, after someone sat on it. Bloom finds... (full context)

Bloom takes his potato back from Zoe, who has been hiding it in her stocking. Bella approaches Stephen at the pianola, and... (full context)

Zoe reads Stephen’s palm and concludes that he’s courageous, but Lynch thinks that Zoe clearly isn’t... (full context)

Next, Zoe reads the skeptical Bloom’s palm. At first, she says that he’ll travel and marry rich,... (full context)

While Zoe and Florry whisper in secret, Bloom imagines Lenehan and Blazes Boylan passing by in a... (full context)

...tells him to stop. Lynch clarifies that he has just come back from Paris. Impressed, Zoe asks Stephen for “some parleyvoo.” Stephen starts ranting about Parisian sexual adventures, imagining a series... (full context)

...Caffrey pass in the street, singing the song “My Girl’s a Yorkshire Girl.” The Yorkshire-born Zoe sticks two pennies in the pianola, which starts playing the same tune. The elderly Professor... (full context)