Like almost every other event in this novel, Bloom’s chance encounter with Bantam Lyons is no coincidence: it has an important effect on the plot and comes back to haunt him later in the day. (One of the horses in the Ascot Gold Cup is named “Throwaway,” and he ends up winning.) Like M’Coy, Lyons is clearly less put-together than Bloom, which hints at Dublin’s difficult socioeconomic situation overall. After meeting the filthy Lyons, it’s only natural that Bloom’s next step is to bathe himself. His vision of idly floating in the tub again recalls the leisurely lotus-eaters in the
Odyssey, but also returns to fertility and creation. Like the previous two episodes, then, this episode also ends with basic bodily functions, which are characters’ way of returning back to the natural world.