The "Bleibtreustrasse" that Bloom sees listed as an address
in an ad is an actual street in the Charlottenburg district of
Berlin, named after the painter Georg Bleibtreu in 1897. But
its English equivalent would be something like "Stay True
Street," or "Remain Faithful Road." When Bloom thinks in the
next moment, "Nothing doing. Still an idea behind it," he is
referring to the Agendath Netaim
proposal, and the idea is Zionism. But Bleibtreustrasse
implies a second kind of idea.
The ad for the agricultural investment promises "Your
name entered for life as owner in the book of the union"—quasi-legal
language for investment in a real estate partnership, but also
a fair description of a successful marriage. It seems possible
that Joyce may also be making teasing references to Bloom's
domestic situation with the numbers that he attaches to the
street. The postal zone code, "15," is
Milly's age as of yesterday. The address on Bleibtreustrasse,
"34," does not line up with Molly's age quite
so neatly. She is 33 on June 16, and will not be 34 until
September 8. However, given the deep uncertainty that Molly
expresses about her own age in Penelope—"the 4 years
more I have of life up to 35 no Im what am I at all Ill be 33
in September will I"—perhaps some kind of
allusion to her age can be heard in the number.
Collectively, these details impart a symbolic function to the
Agendath Netaim advertisement. The allure of participating in
the Jews' return to their spiritual homeland bleeds over into
Bloom's desire to maintain the home that he has made with
Molly and Milly, a domestic stability that is threatened by
Molly's adultery and Bloom's epistolary infidelity. Similar
symbolic overtones will attach to the two songs that Molly
plans to sing on her concert tour—Là ci darem and Love's Old Sweet Song—and
to the story that Bloom reads
from Titbits.