In “Nausicaa,” Cissy Caffrey is Gerty MacDowell and Edy Boardman’s outgoing, energetic, fearless friend. She plays with the baby, disciplines her younger brothers Jacky and Tommy, and asks Leopold Bloom for the time after she notices him staring at Gerty. In “Circe,” she repeatedly appears with Privates Carr and Compton in nighttown, where she seems to be working as a prostitute. However, it is unclear whether she is really there or just a figment of Leopold Bloom’s imagination.
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Cissy Caffrey Character Timeline in Ulysses
The timeline below shows where the character Cissy Caffrey appears in Ulysses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Episode 13: Nausicaa
At sunset, three teenaged girls play on the rocks at Sandymount Strand. They are Cissy Caffrey, Edy Boardman, and Gerty MacDowell. Cissy’s younger twin brothers Tommy and Jacky are playing...
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Tommy wants to take his ball back from Edy’s baby brother. Edy says no, but Cissy tosses Tommy the ball and starts to play with the baby to distract him. Cissy...
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...sitting nearby (Bloom), who is wearing all black, catches the ball and tosses it to Cissy. It rolls over to Gerty, who tries to kick it away. At first, she misses,...
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The twins keep playing around. Cissy Caffrey plays peek-a-boo with the baby, then tells him to say “pa pa pa pa...
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...fight over the ball, which frustrates Gerty. To stop them from running into the sea, Cissy chases after them. Gerty thinks that it would be indecent if Cissy tripped and upturned...
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Cissy and Edy both notice the gentleman (Bloom) and Gerty looking at each other, and Edy...
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...clearly angry and jealous about something, but she feels no sympathy for her. Edy and Cissy play with their little brothers and get them ready to leave.
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Just when the benediction ends in the church, fireworks start to go off. Cissy and Edy run over with their brothers to watch, but Gerty stays back because she...
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...the forgiveness in her eyes, and they both know that she won’t tell their secret. Cissy calls for Gerty to leave with them, and Gerty decides to send Bloom a message...
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...life, and he wonders what it would have been like if he had chatted with Cissy when she came over to ask for the time. He remembers once mistaking a friend...
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...Gerty and her friends, who are off in the distance watching fireworks. He dwells on Cissy, criticizing her appearance and noting how lovingly she treats the baby. And while he notes...
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Episode 15: Circe
Cissy Caffrey’s voice sings a lewd song, and two drunk British soldiers, Private Carr and Private...
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Private Carr, Private Compton, and Cissy Caffrey pass in the street, singing the song “My Girl’s a Yorkshire Girl.” The Yorkshire-born...
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Bloom finds Stephen arguing with Private Carr and Private Compton about his advances toward Cissy Caffrey. Too drunk for his own good, Stephen mocks the soldiers as they threaten to...
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Bloom desperately shakes Cissy Caffrey and pleads with her to make peace between Stephen and the soldiers. But she...
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...and Stephen compares him to Judas. The Old Gummy Granny tells Stephen to fight, while Cissy Caffrey tells Private Carr that she forgives Stephen for insulting her. Carr attacks Stephen anyway,...
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