Molly Bloom presents the most complete picture of her lover of June 16, 1904, in "Penelope," but other glimpses of Blazes Boylan are scattered throughout Ulysses. In fact, Boylan's presence in Bloom's mind is ubiquitous, and several times in the novel, Bloom's thoughts of his rival call forth his physical appearance. Bloom's daughter, Milly, has been sent to Mulligar by her father so that she will be away from home during the upcoming affair; yet her letter mentions Boylan: "Tell him silly Milly sends my best respects." On the way to Glasnevin Cemetery (in "Hades"), Boylan passes by the carriage of mourners; and Simon Dedalus, Martin Cunningham, and Jack Power all praise Boylan — as Bloom sits quietly staring at his nails (a Christocentric symbol since Bloom is being nailed to the Cross by the marital infidelity), and he wonders how otherwise sensible men can like the "worst man in Dublin." In "The Lestrygonians," Bloom's thoughts that Boylan may have venereal disease (an improbable, passing, though painful consideration) precede Boylan's appearance, and the sight of his trademarks, a straw hat and tan shoes, forces Bloom to flee into the museum. When Bloom does manage to summon the courage to follow Boylan into the Ormond Hotel in "The Sirens," he sits in another room so that Boylan can't see him, as Boylan "warms up" with a drink before his meeting with Molly.
Despite the fact that Boylan is a "man's man" — a manager of a fighter, an advertising man, and a fine singer in a city that venerated the male voice — Joyce makes it clear that Blazes is a shallow sort, in many ways a stereotypical seducer. When Blazes stops into Thornton's to purchase a bottle of wine and some fruit to be sent to Molly before his visit, he looks down into the salesgirl's blouse, and Joyce permits the reader a glance at Boylan's thought processes: He regards the young woman simply as a "young pullet," and he thus reveals his inability to see beyond the physical. Molly has so little trust in the tricky Boylan (he once spread rumors that his fighter was drinking beer during training and then made money by betting on his underdog) that she thinks the presents might be Boylan's way of avoiding the assignation.
