Bloom's thoughts as he gazes longingly at the woman in front
of the Grosvenor hotel make clear that such voyeuristic acts
are not unusual for him: "Girl in Eustace street hallway
Monday was it settling her garter. Her friend covering the
display of esprit de corps. Well, what are you gaping
at?" His pun on a common expression is also evidence that he
is capable of what he elsewhere calls "wit."
"Eustace street" crosses Temple Bar in the center of
Dublin, just south of the Liffey and about half a kilometer
west of where Bloom is standing in Lotus Eaters when
he thinks of it. In this heavily traveled part of
town, several days earlier, he saw a woman lifting up her
skirt to adjust one of the garters holding up her stockings
while a companion stood between her and the sidewalk shielding
her from eager male stares. Judging by the final sentence—"Well,
what are you gaping at?"—Bloom is not one of those
well-behaved men who avert their gaze from such fortuitous
displays.
The French phrase "esprit de corps" (spirit of
the body) refers to the feelings of comradeship and enthusiasm
that motivate members of a tight social group to come to the
aid of one another. It probably originated with military
units, but in English usage at least it has long been applied
to any kind of group united by shared activities. (The OED
quotes from Jeremy Bentham: "A particular community...such
as that of divines, lawyers, merchants, etc., has its esprit
de corps, its corporate affections, and other
interests.") The body in question is, of course, a social
one—some particular subset of the body politic—and this
meaning clearly applies to the act of sisterhood that Bloom
witnessed. But the body at risk of "display" was quite
physical.
The ambiguity here is much like one heard in Molly's wish
that her husband could explain things "the way a body can understand"—i.e.,
the way a person can understand, but an ordinary person
grounded in the body rather than airy abstractions. Bloom's
joke is a small one, but it suggests that he does not
completely lack Molly's ability to make puns, which he admires
in Lestrygonians: "She used to say Ben Dollard had a
base barreltone voice. He has legs like barrels and you’d
think he was singing into a barrel. Now, isn’t that wit....
Powerful man he was at stowing away number one Bass. Barrel of
Bass. See? It all works out."
