Why does Bloom buy lemon soap in Ulysses?
Bloom calls at Sweny's chemist on Lincoln Place in Episode 5 to order a face lotion for Molly, and buys a bar of lemon soap. He carries it in his pocket all day. In Circe the soap rises like a sun and sings. Sweny's is still open, run by volunteers.
Edited by Aidan O'Leary · Last updated 30 October 2026
Where it appears
Several episodes. Bloom, remembering where to have Molly's lotion made up.
Sweny’s in Lincoln place. Chemists rarely move.
What it means in plain English
He forgets to collect the lotion, and the soap stays in his pocket until night.
In Circe it appears: “A cake of new clean lemon soap arises, diffusing light and perfume”, with Sweny's freckled face in it.
Literary context
Sweny's, on Lincoln Place, was a working pharmacy until 2009 and is now kept as a Joyce site.
References
- Ulysses, Episodes 5, 13, 15 and 17
- Don Gifford with Robert J. Seidman, Ulysses Annotated (revised edition, 1988)
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Questions readers ask
Can you buy the lemon soap today?
Yes, Sweny's sells it to visitors.
Related terms
The potato talisman
Bloom carries a shrivelled potato in his trouser pocket all day as a charm. It was his mother's, kept to ward off illness. He checks it as he leaves the house in Episode 4, and in Circe he takes it back from the prostitute Zoe: “A talisman. Heirloom.”
Martha Clifford and Henry Flower
Martha Clifford is a woman Bloom writes to in secret under the false name Henry Flower. He collects her letter at the post office in Episode 5. Their flirtation is all on paper; they have never met. The letter includes a pressed flower and a famous mistake.
Bloomsday
The annual celebration of Ulysses held every 16 June, the day on which the whole novel takes place.