—All the talents, Myles Crawford said. Law, the classics…
—The turf, Lenehan put in.
—Literature, the press.
—If Bloom were here, the professor said. The gentle art of advertisement.
—And Madam Bloom, Mr O’Madden Burke added. The vocal muse. Dublin’s prime favourite.
Lenehan gave a loud cough.
Of course, each one of them are failures in their own way: O’Molloy a failing lawyer, MacHugh isn’t a real professor, Stephen a struggling artist. And Bloom is only mentioned after-the-fact and without much praise.
The addition of Molly Bloom is mockery, everybody, it seems knows and is in on the joke.