Rudolf Bloom, Jr. Character Analysis in Ulysses

Leopold and Molly Bloom’s son Rudy died eleven days after he was born, about a decade before the events of Ulysses. They also haven’t had sex ever since. Bloom frequently remembers Rudy’s death, which he sees as a representation of his failure as a father and husband. Stephen Dedalus stands in for Rudy in the final episodes of the novel—especially at the end of “Circe,” when Bloom feels a sense of fatherly purpose while caring for Stephen, then has a vision of Rudy.

Rudolf Bloom, Jr. Quotes in Ulysses

The Ulysses quotes below are all either spoken by Rudolf Bloom, Jr. or refer to Rudolf Bloom, Jr.. 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

(Against the dark wall a figure appears slowly, a fairy boy of eleven, a changeling, kidnapped, dressed in an Eton suit with glass shoes and a little bronze helmet, holding a book in his hand. He reads from right to left inaudibly, smiling, kissing the page.)
BLOOM: (wonderstruck, calls inaudibly) Rudy!
RUDY: (gazes, unseeing, into Bloom’s eyes and goes on reading, kissing, smiling. He has a delicate mauve face. On his suit he has diamond and ruby buttons. In his free left hand he holds a slim ivory cane with a violet bowknot. A white lambkin peeps out of his waistcoat pocket.)

Related Characters: Leopold Bloom (speaker), Stephen Dedalus, Rudolf Bloom, Jr.

Page Number and Citation: 497

Explanation and Analysis:

Rudolf Bloom, Jr. Character Timeline in Ulysses

The timeline below shows where the character Rudolf Bloom, Jr. appears in Ulysses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...girls” song. Bloom remembers when Milly was born and laments that his and Molly’s son, Rudy, died as an infant. He rereads the letter and wonders about her inevitable sexual awakening. (full context)

...ruffian” who he thinks will “ruin” Stephen. Bloom starts thinking about how his own son, Rudy, would be if he had survived and grown up. He remembers the day he and... (full context)

...men pass another funeral procession carrying a tiny child’s coffin. Bloom again remembers his son Rudy, and Power comments that suicide is “the greatest disgrace to have in the family,” but... (full context)

...and Molly were happier. But he admits 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... (full context)

Irish Identity and Nationalism Theme Icon

...Bloom to the Messiah and Ned Lambert remembers how excited Bloom was for his son Rudy’s birth. Martin agrees to have a drink with the other men, and he, the citizen,... (full context)

...mother die because it makes money from both birth (baptism) and death (funerals). He remembers Rudy’s birth and death, and the lambswool vest Molly knitted for his burial. The sonless Bloom... (full context)

...mother. As he stands protectively over Stephen with the ashplant, Bloom imagines his dead son Rudy as a handsome schoolboy. (full context)

...he didn’t attend Stephen’s mother’s funeral, which fell on the anniversary of his young son Rudy’s death. Stephen declines the guest room, and Bloom returns Stephen’s money, which he was safekeeping. (full context)

...of different constellations and thinks about the stars that shone during his, Stephen’s, his son Rudy’s, and Shakespeare’s births. (full context)

...the shoot. She remembers meeting Stephen when he was about eleven, after her infant son Rudy’s death. Before that, she also saw him at Mat Dillon’s house, when he was a... (full context)

...parents don’t appreciate their “fine son,” while she and Leopold had to bury their son Rudy when he was still an infant. Trying not to fall into “the glooms,” Molly asks... (full context)

Rudolf Bloom, Jr. Character Analysis

Rudolf Bloom, Jr. Quotes in Ulysses

Episode 15: Circe Quotes

Rudolf Bloom, Jr. Character Timeline in Ulysses