Names, naming, and characterization in Joyce's Ulysses

The multiple names Joyce assigns to Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalus reflect their individual personalities as perceived by themselves and by others; the multiplicity of these characters' names serves to identify and define the myriad aspects of their personalities. If each name represents a slice of the character's composite personality, an examination of these names may uphold or dispel previous critical analyses of the characters.

The correlation between the names and the personalities of Bloom, Molly, and Stephen can inform a variety of critical approaches to the novel and can change what are commonly regarded as definitive analyses of the characters. Bloom has been defined by critics as a Christ figure; Molly, as a Gea Tellus; Stephen, as an unappreciated artist. The problems with these interpretations is that these character analyses seem to focus only on single, particular names appended to Joyce's three principal characters. Critics who support Bloom's associations with Elijah seem to ignore the existence of Bloom's seventy other names. Similarly, those critics who espouse Molly as earth mother stare too long at the isolated name given her in Ithaca: Gea Tellus. Stephen's supporters, too, view him as an artist because they have become fixated with the name "Daedalus." We can no longer focus critical attention only on single, particular names because each character's diversified, incongruous personality is documented in his variety of names, and these must not be ignored.

Regarding the central characters' names collectively might expand our critical vision. The names collectively provide us with accurate and thorough character sketches and we must no longer ignore their existence or discount their importance.