Martha Clifford Character Analysis in Ulysses

Martha Clifford is the pseudonym of Leopold Bloom’s secret romantic pen pal. (She knows him only as “Henry Flower.”) Bloom opens Martha’s lusty letter in “Lotus Eaters,” thinks about it all day, and writes her back in the bar during “Sirens.” This represents his own mild flirtation with infidelity—which readers may or may not find comparable to Molly’s affair with Blazes Boylan.

Martha Clifford Quotes in Ulysses

The Ulysses quotes below are all either spoken by Martha Clifford or refer to Martha Clifford. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Alienation and the Quest for Belonging Theme Icon

Bronze by gold heard the hoofirons, steelyringing.
Imperthnthn thnthnthn.
Chips, picking chips off rocky thumbnail, chips.
Horrid! And gold flushed more.
A husky fifenote blew.
Blew. Blue bloom is on the.
Goldpinnacled hair.
A jumping rose on satiny breast of satin, rose of Castile.
Trilling, trilling: Idolores.
Peep! Who’s in the … peepofgold?
Tink cried to bronze in pity.
And a call, pure, long and throbbing. Longindying call.
Decoy. Soft word. But look: the bright stars fade. Notes chirruping answer.
O rose! Castile. The morn is breaking.
Jingle jingle jaunted jingling.
[…]
Done.
Begin!

Related Characters: Matt Lenehan, Simon Dedalus, Mina Kennedy, Lydia Douce, Hugh (“Blazes”) Boylan, Ben Dollard, Pat , Martha Clifford, Leopold Bloom

Related Symbols: Jingling

Page Number and Citation: 210-211

Explanation and Analysis:

Martha Clifford Character Timeline in Ulysses

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

There’s a yellow flower inside Bloom’s letter, which is from someone named Martha. She calls Henry Flower a “poor little naughty boy” and asks when they can meet.... (full context)

Religion, Atheism, and Philosophy Theme Icon

...and happy, like they’re joining a big family in the kingdom of God. Bloom remembers Martha first requesting to meet him and watches the priest wash out the chalice, which he... (full context)

...railway controlman’s stand, and numerous Dublin landmarks like the Queen’s Theatre. Bloom remembers tearing up Martha’s letter and wonders about the performance of Leah that night. (full context)

...soap on his handkerchief and moves it to his other pocket. It reminds him of Martha asking about his wife’s perfume in her letter, and he briefly considers visiting Molly at... (full context)

...“Wanted, smart lady typist to aid gentleman in literary work.” This is how he met Martha. He reflects on the Times’s successful ad page and thinks about a series of women:... (full context)

...that Molly “could never like it again after Rudy,” and he starts to think about Martha’s letter. Bloom looks around at the textile shop windows and considers buying Molly a pincushion,... (full context)

...bar just when Bloom is reaching the Essex Bridge and thinking about writing back to Martha. Lenehan asks for Blazes Boylan, but Miss Kennedy says that Boylan isn’t around. Lenehan condescendingly... (full context)

Just across the river, Bloom is buying stationery for his return letter to Martha. In the store, he notices a poster showing a mermaid, and he thinks of the... (full context)

...into his career, then recognizes the funny coincidence that he’s singing from an opera named Martha (just like his pen pal). He remembers the night he first met Molly: they played... (full context)

...Miss Mina Kennedy ward off men’s advances, and Bloom decides to start his letter to Martha on the spot, so he asks Pat for a pen and ink. He thinks about... (full context)

...conventional letter, but he also encloses some money and claims to be excited to meet Martha. But he starts to question why he’s writing to her in the first place. At... (full context)

...that women behave strangely when they’re menstruating. Bloom is glad that he didn’t masturbate over Martha’s letter in the morning, but waited for Gerty instead. He also thinks that this makes... (full context)

...her age. His thoughts about Gerty mix with his memories of Molly, his desire for Martha, and his feeling of resentment towards Blazes Boylan. (full context)

...beasts in parallax. He sees a “wonder of metempsychosis,” a radiant figure who is both Martha and Milly. (full context)

...flower out of his pocket and tries to explain that his name is a joke. Martha shows up and asks Bloom to “clear [her] name,” while Bloom tells the police that... (full context)

...possessions like his mother’s brooch and his father’s scarfpin. Particularly noteworthy are three letters from Martha Clifford, two pornographic postcards, and a pamphlet advertising rectal suppositories. Bloom adds his newest Martha... (full context)

...then begins a “catechetical interrogation” about her husband’s day. Bloom skips over his letters to Martha Clifford, his fight at Barney Kiernan’s bar, and his voyeuristic encounter with Gerty MacDowell. He... (full context)

Martha Clifford Character Analysis

Martha Clifford Quotes in Ulysses

Episode 11: Sirens Quotes

Martha Clifford Character Timeline in Ulysses