Businessman Bloom
Mr. Bloom’s C.V., combined with other evidence of his business practices, illuminates and facilitates the evaluation of his professional characteristics. Mr. Bloom’s management of his own career, as well as those of his wife and daughter, reveals his visionary ability to identify and pursue promising fields of commerce. In this way, businessman Bloom proves himself to be an innovative thinker, a savvy investor, and an ultimately successful businessman capable of overcoming significant obstacles, including the death of his son Rudy.
Although Bloom’s career has wandered, its trend has been toward the “the gentle art of advertisement” (U 7.608), beginning with his suggestion of a cart advertisement for Wisdom Hely’s.[1] While the act of advertising one’s business has been in practice since craftsmen first displayed tools above their doorway, the market conditions contemporary to Bloom’s career represent the transitional period that initiated the emergence of the democratic and consumer-based economy we see today. The literary sociologist Franco Moretti describes Bloom’s era as a “crisis” precipitated by “the definitive decline of the self-regulating market.”[2] Modern newspaper advertisement emerged in response to the “spectre of over-production (alias under-consumption)”[3] in order to entice an increasingly literate populace to purchase more than it needs. Writing about advertising in 1899, William Stead claims, “competition in the world of industry and commerce has become so severe that a manufacturer is obliged to keep his goods continually before the public.”[4] Bloom’s current job as a freelance advertisement canvasser responds to this “paradoxical and ‘critical’ situation of a perennial imbalance between supply and demand.”[5]
This crisis of supply and demand touches Bloom’s thoughts as soon as he turns the corner from his home on Eccles Street.
He approached Larry O’Rourke’s. … Good house, however: just the end of the city traffic. For instance M’Auley’s down there: n. g. as position. Of course if they ran a tramline along the North Circular from the cattlemarket to the quays value would go up like a shot.
Baldhead over the blind. Cute old codger. No use canvassing him for an ad. Still he knows his own business best. …
Where do they get the money? … Then think of the competition. General thirst. Good puzzle would be cross Dublin without passing a pub. (U 4.105, 107-12, 126, 128-30)
In his first interaction with Dublin’s commercial cityscape, Bloom displays many of his most useful business characteristics. He first evaluates the quality of the product or service offered, affirming that Larry O’Rourke’s pub is a “good house.” However, he displays an awareness of the importance of secondary market factors, such as real estate’s location and accessibility by public transport. He forecasts an increase in value should “they” expand the tram system to include the North Circular thoroughfare, revealing his ability to envision creative avenues to growth. This attention to an unnamed “they” recognizes the role of government and civic leadership in the growth of business.[6] Bloom contemplates Larry O’Rourke as a prospect for an advertisement, but he calculates that there’s “no use” investing time or social capital on propositioning this vestige of the “old” way of doing business. At the conclusion of this musing, Bloom’s business mind moves beyond the micro to a macroeconomic contemplation of the crisis of supply and demand within the Dublin pub market; indeed, this crisis of “competition” applies to all commerce, ushering in the modern age of advertising.
Advertisement existed prior to the era of Bloom’s career, but its most common form was “billposting,”[7] the displaying of advertisement posters in public spaces. Bill-sticking was a territorial trade, wherein one agent “established the rights of priority and if challenged by a subsequent arrival, any ensuing argument was often settled by fisticuffs.”[8] This primitive practice seems well-suited to the animalistic impulses of “Boylan, the billsticker” (U 16.199). The sort of newspaper advertisements sold by Bloom did not emerge until the 1880s, “when with the advent of the cheap newspaper and an increasing literacy, advertising began to assume features with which we are now familiar.”[9] Appropriately, Bloom’s job represents a more evolved form of Boylan’s.
William Stead, writing about the advertising industry concurrent with Bloom’s career, offers a glimpse into both the central importance and aura of suspicion surrounding the advertising agent. Indeed, the defensive tone of Stead’s book implies that Great Britain at the turn of the century was a hostile environment for the ad man:
The Advertising Agent is eminently a modern institution. He is the product of a democratic age. He has sprung into existence almost in the lifetime of a single generation. […] The Advertising Agent is the nerve-centre of modern industry. […] The advertiser is often a modern Ishmaelite, every man’s hand is against him. The Advertising Agent must devise methods by which he can overcome this feeling of repulsion.[10]
The strong diction of “repulsion,” combined with the Semitic allusion to the “Ishmaelite,” clearly portrays the advertiser as the object of hatred and mistrust. As the Freemason son of a Jewish immigrant, this career choice makes Bloom seem a glutton for social punishment and isolation. However, Stead’s description of the advertising agent’s craft suits Bloom’s mental process perfectly:
He has discovered laws by practical investigation. He has applied those laws to his daily business and tested their actual operation. He has, in fact, raised advertising almost to the level of an exact science. His services to the community have not yet been properly recognized.[11]
Bloom’s “practical investigation” of his surroundings, as exemplified in the Larry O’Rourke passage, allows him to apply his understanding of the increasingly complex “laws” of commerce and competition. Advertising, then, “becomes an indispensable aid to modern trade precisely at the time of Ulysses, because of the definitive crisis of the automatic balance between supply and demand.”[12] However, to limit Bloom’s business acumen to a “science” would ignore the sense that “there’s a touch of the artist about old Bloom” (U 10.582-3).
With regards to the aesthetic values of advertisements, Bloom celebrates “the infinite possibilities hitherto unexploited of the modern art of advertisement” (U 17.580-1) in terms that echo Stead’s articulation of effective advertisements. Bloom describes his design for the Keyes ad: “two crossed keys here. A circle. Then here the name. Alexander Keyes, tea, wine, and spirit merchant” (U 7.142-3). Clearly, he follows Stead’s direction that pictorial advertising “must be bold, vigorous, and simple.”[13] The Keyes advertisement’s clarity also adheres to Bloom’s own valuation of “maximum legibility (deciphered)” (U 17.583). Furthermore, this exemplar of Bloom’s advertising style features the “symbol[ic] … interest” of the “innuendo of home rule” (U 17.582, 584, 7.150). Just as Stead states that an advertisement’s “object is to attract attention and to strike the public eye,”[14] Bloom appreciates ads with “the magnetizing efficacy to arrest involuntary attention (U 17.5830). For example, he admires the Kino’s 11/- Trousers ad in “a rowboat rock at anchor” (U 8.88-9) in the River Liffey. In these ways, the striking similarity between the advertising theories of Bloom and Stead suggests that Bloom is at least a thoughtful practitioner of his trade, if not a master of his art form. Having developed this level of expertise within such a young profession, Bloom positions himself to ride the crest of a remarkably lucrative wave. In this way, Bloom is a savvy businessman, identifying profitable opportunities and best positioning himself to benefit.
Bloom makes another such wise investment of human capital by placing Milly at the photoshop in Mullingar. The commercial photo industry had only recently emerged 1888 with George Eastman’s launch of the first Kodak camera, which exposed the art form to mass-market appeal.[15] Although many professional photographers met this emerging amateurism with “scorn,”[16] Bloom’s egalitarian principles here intersect with his penchant for identifying opportunities for economic growth. In her position at the photoshop, Milly earns “twelve and six a week” (U 4.425), a tidy sum for a fifteen-year-old girl. To put this wage in context, Eveline, a girl four years older than Milly, earns “seven shillings” (D 30) for her work in “the stores” (D 29). To extrapolate further, Milly earns £2, 10 s. each month,[17] while Stephen, with his extensive education, receives a wage of £3, 12 s. for his work at Mr. Deasy’s school. For her age, gender, and level of education, Milly enjoys a healthy income which stands to increase as the photography industry expands. Bloom, as an investor, has profitably positioned his daughter within an emerging industry, similar to his own choice of the advertising profession.
Likewise, Bloom’s eye for business opportunities does not shy away from using the commodity of his wife’s sexual attractiveness for economic gain. In his advertisement for their secondhand clothing and theater costume shop years ago, Bloom employs a titillating typographical omission in order to attract potential customers: “Mrs Marion Bloom has left off clothes of all descriptions” (U 11.496-7). The pun created by dropping the hyphen between “left-off” suggests that Molly’s shop may indeed have a large inventory of secondhand clothing, but she herself might not be wearing any at all. Bloom even goes so far as to assign monetary value to Molly’s sexual favors: “Suppose he gave her money. Why not? All a prejudice. She’s worth ten, fifteen, more, a pound. What? I think so” (U 13.841-2). This contemplation of the price Molly might command in prostitution sheds light on his vague explanation of the “company idea” of Molly’s concert tour: Bloom represents both “part[s]” of the committee; he “shares” Molly sexually with Boylan and “profits” financially as a result (U 8.784-5).
Just as Bloom cannot resist contemplating commoditizing his wife, and regardless of the sentimentality of Bloom’s atonement with Stephen, he still has business on the brain in the Eumaeus episode. “All kinds of Utopian plans were flashing through his (B’s) busy brain … concert tours in English watering resorts packed with hydros and seaside theaters, turning money away, duets in Italian with the accent perfectly true to nature” (U 16.1552-56). This conception of Stephen as a business opportunity builds upon his notion earlier in the episode of organizing “a concert tour of summer music embracing the most prominent pleasure resorts … something top notch, an all star Irish caste, the Tweedy-Flower grand opera company with his own legal consort as leading lady” (U 16.518-19, 524-26). As such, Bloom objectifies Stephen’s singing talent as leverage within a business negotiation, allowing him to usurp Boylan’s management of Molly’s singing career. Clearly, Bloom’s meeting with Stephen represents a climactic event within the novel’s archetypal and narrative trajectory, but Bloom “reaches the point of racking his brains to find a way to use the young man’s culture to his personal advantage.”[18] This priority of business before sentimentality reflects Stephen’s reductive statement that “the problem is to get money” (U 1.497); indeed, if you open Ulysses to a random page of Bloom’s inner monologue, you’re astonishingly likely to find “his effort to capitalize on every little thing in view of its potential economic usefulness.”[19]
The complete catalogue of Bloom’s business “schemes” appears in the Ithaca episode. Just as he has shown strategic acumen in the placement of his assets (his family), Bloom reveals his visionary eye for business opportunities, including “hydraulic power” (U 17.1711), a real estate development resembling the modern resort of “golf links,” “casinos,” and “hotels,” (U 17.1716-7), the attraction of tourist traffic with “petrolpropelled riverboats” on the Liffey, and, of course, the cattle tram idea introduced in Calypso and discussed in Hades. As this scheme is fully described, Bloom again displays his ability to think in terms of the macro as well as the micro. Beyond the civic benefit of clearing the thoroughfare for other traffic, the creation of a tramline connecting the Cattle Market with the quays would facilitate the export of this valuable commodity[20] by linking Dublin’s extensive rail network with steamships and thus foreign markets. In so doing, Bloom displays an understanding of the emerging global economy, where Irish cattle could be sold in “Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Holland” in addition to England (U 17.1739-40). Bloom’s recognition of this gap in the transportation infrastructure likely emerged from his work experience as a cattle salesman for Cuffe’s, and it again reveals his ability to recognize an opportunity for economic growth.
For all of these innovative ideas and sound business practices, the Dubliners have nebulous opinions on whether or not Bloom has achieved success as a businessman. Upon first glance, Bloom’s C. V. appears jumpy and disjointed. However, most of the changes occur in the year 1894, immediately following Rudy’s death on “9 January 1894” (U 17.2281). This chronology illuminates the profound impact – in professional as well as emotional and marital terms – caused by the loss of Bloom’s son. Indeed, the Blooms were so “hard up” while living in Holles street between 1894-96 that they operated a small secondhand clothing business out of their apartment, and Bloom even took to washing clothes by hand “to save the laundry bill” (U 15.2986-7). Other Dubliners seem aware of Bloom’s meandering career during these troubled years, as Nosey Flynn divulges to Davy Byrne that Bloom was out of his insurance job with Drimmie’s “long ago” (U 8.940).[21] He also claims that Bloom “doesn’t buy cream on the ads he picks up” (U 8.955), suggesting that the Freemasons “give him a leg up” (U 8.963). This innuendo may result from Nosey Flynn taking out of context Bloom’s difficulty holding a job in ’94, or perhaps he underestimates the commissions an ad canvasser earns (after all, advertising is a relatively new profession). Either way, the perception of Bloom as a “staid agent of publicity and the holder of a modest substance in the funds” (U 14.1042-3) persists, despite his creative and innovative business mind. Perhaps “originality, though producing its own reward, does not invariably conduce to success” (U 17.606-7).
However, the novel offers evidence to suggest that Mr. Bloom’s finances are sound at the very least. Bloom’s budget for June 16th reveals that he draws a commission of £1, 7 s., 6 d. from the Freeman’s Journal cashier, and he expects to earn £2, 8 s. for the Keyes ad (U 17.1459, 8.1058), each sum representing substantial income. In a moment of mental accounting, Bloom implies that he has more business in the pipeline, musing “if I net five guineas with those ads” (U 11.189-90), which translates to an additional £5, 5 s. As further evidence of Bloom’s solvency, Bloom promptly “put down the five shillings” (U 10.975-6) he pledges in support of the Dignam children, which impresses John Wyse Nolan to the extent of “open[ing] wide eyes” of astonishment (U 10.979). The best source of Bloom’s fiscal information, his bank statement of December 31st, 1903, displays a balance of £18-14-6 (U 17.1863). While not an enormous savings, Gifford explains that “it would pay for almost eight months of rent” in their current house.[22] For any self-supporting citizen, and especially a salesperson on commission, “conventional wisdom tells us we need at least 6 months of living expenses saved up,”[23] which Bloom has successfully achieved. Taken together with Molly’s income from her singing career, Milly’s movement toward self-sufficiency, and the plan to rent out Milly’s now vacant room (U 10.250), it seems that the Bloom household has recovered extremely well from being “on the rocks” (U 13.841) eight years prior.
Based on his C.V. and the day-long interview of June 16, 1904, I would hire Mr. Bloom. In his determined effort to secure the Keyes advertisement despite obstacles, he proves himself a motivated and focused worker. His shrewd accounting over the course of the day displays his prudent adherence to the old adage that if one takes care of the pence, the pounds take care of themselves. He carefully evaluates investment opportunities, such as the Agendath Netaim prospectus, and he has a keen eye for value, as shown in the astronomy book he purchased for half its worth (U 10.527). His choice of career, both for himself and his daughter, reveals an ability to anticipate the trajectory of the market. Along with his speculative talent, Bloom thinks creatively and innovatively, characteristics of increasing usefulness in the emerging consumer-based economy of the 20th century. While the personal tragedy of Rudy’s death negatively impacted Bloom’s performance in his professional career for a few years, his resolve, combined with his natural business acumen, have replaced him “on the pig’s back” (U 8.1060).
Notes
[1] Bloom’s idea of the “transparent showcart with two smart girls sitting inside writing letter, copybooks, envelopes, blottingpaper” (U 8.131-3) gives insight into his advertising aesthetics, but it would have been illegal by the Hacking and Stage Carriage Act of 1853, which sought to alleviate the congestion of city streets (Elliott 167).
[2] Franco Moretti, Signs Taken for Wonders: Essays in the Sociology of Literary Forms
(London: Verso, 1988), 183.
[3] E.S. Turner, The Shocking History of Advertising! (London: Joseph, 1952), 142.
[4] William Stead, The Art of Advertising: Its Theory and Practice Fully Described
(London: Browne, 1899), 18-19.
[5] Moretti, 195.
[6] Bloom makes subtle suggestion of his North Circular tramline idea to the men on the tramride to Dignam’s funeral. Martin Cunningham, who holds a position of some influence within the Dublin bureaucracy, replies, “Quite right. They ought to” (U 6.403-4). Of course, Bloom’s residence is between the proposed tramline on North Circular and Larry O’Rourke’s on Dorset Street, so it stands to reason that Bloom’s own property value would benefit from this scheme, as well.
[7] Blanche B. Elliott, A History of English Advertising (London: Business Publications
Limited, 1962), xiv.
[8] Elliott, 165.
[9] Elliott, xv.
[10] Stead, 42, 45.
[11] Stead, 46.
[12] Moretti, 193.
[13] Stead, 102.
[14] Stead, 102.
[15] Gisele Freund, Photography and Society (London: Fraser, 1980), 201.
[16] Ian Jeffrey, Photography: A Concise History (London: Thames and Hudson, 1981),
106.
[17] Assuming four weeks in the month.
[18] Moretti, 203.
[19] Moretti, 203.
[20] Cuffe sold cattle for “about twentyseven quid each” (U 6.392-3).
[21] In fact, it’s been sixteen years.
[22] Don Gifford, “Ulysses” Annotated (London: University of California Press, 1988),
597.
[23] Meredith Simmonds, “Tips for Saving Six Months Living Expenses”
(www.creditinfocenter.com).
Works Cited
Elliott, Blanche B. A History of English Advertising. London: Business Publications
Limited, 1962.
Freund, Gisele. Photography and Society. London: Fraser, 1980.
Gifford, Don. “Ulysses” Annotated. London: University of California Press, 1988.
Joyce, James. Ulysses. London: The Bodley Head, 1986.
-- Dubliners. New York: Vintage, 1993.
Jeffrey, Ian. Photography: A Concise History. London: Thames and Hudson, 1981.
Moretti, Franco. Signs Taken For Wonders: Essays in the Sociology of Literary Forms.
London: Verso, 1988.
Simmonds, Meredith. “Tips for Saving Six Months Living Expenses.”
www.creditinfocenter.com. 22 Jun. 2011. Web. 6 August 2011.
Stead, William. The Art of Advertising: Its Theory and Practice Fully Described.
London: Browne, 1899.
Turner, E.S. The Shocking History of Advertising! London: Joseph, 1952.