Bloom does bring some of his troubles upon himself, however, and in Ulysses, Joyce clearly does not present a plaster saint as protagonist. Bloom seems unable to speak in plain language, at least around Molly, and she is vexed by his definition of "metempsychosis" as the "transmigration of souls." Again, Bloom has the fatalistic habit of accepting many things that perhaps should not be accepted, of closing his eyes, for example, to the fact of Boylan's letter to Molly, which protrudes from under her pillow, and to his daughter's possible loss of her virginity in the near future. Also, Bloom does not seem to want any result to issue from his correspondence with Martha Clifford; perhaps he would rather stand on a beach and masturbate, as he does in "Nausicaa," an act that does not demand commitment. As noted, Bloom does a number of things to antagonize those around him, who are already only too willing to condemn him: he puts nothing in black and white; he never buys drinks; as "Mister Knowall," he expounds at great length on the reasons that a hanged man undergoes a sexual erection at the time of death, adding to the already tense atmosphere of Barney Kiernan's pub in "The Cyclops," and although he helps Stephen in the later episodes of Ulysses, he is not averse to considering how Stephen can further his plans for a touring musical company.
Despite his faults, however, Bloom does perform such a remarkable number of charitable deeds in the novel that he becomes, in many ways, a modern Christ. He attends Dignam's funeral, for example, despite his knowing that he will not be accepted by the other mourners, and, later, he visits Paddy's widow to help her understand the life insurance policy. (Ironically, he met Cunningham in Kiernan's pub for that purpose and was accused of being a defrauder of widows and children.) Bloom feeds Banbury cakes to hungry sea gulls. He pities the starving Dedalus children. He helps a blind youth cross a street. He goes to Dr. Horne's hospital to look in upon Mina Purefoy, who has lain three days in labor, and he stays after the birth to watch over Stephen, who he thinks is being covertly made drunk by Mulligan. In Nighttown, Bloom cares for Stephen, even though he must run to catch up with him; he saves Stephen's money from the scheming Bella Cohen; he tries to persuade a soldier not to strike the incapable Stephen; and when Stephen is knocked down, Bloom takes him home, first stopping at a cabman's shelter to find some sustenance for him.
