Episode VIII brings us the discovery that Bloom begins his correspondence with Martha Clifford via a personal ad reading, “Wanted, smart lady typist to aid gentlemen in literary work.” (326-327.8) This connects to several other occurrences to open up a variety of interpretive possibilities. Firstly, we may use this to interpret Bloom’s correspondence with Martha, posing as Henry Flower, as an act of art-making. The idea of viewing of a man’s idle, absent-minded attempt at an affair as a sort of literature is very much in line with Joyce’s other jabs at art, such as Stephen comparing Irish art to the cracked looking-glass of a servant or Bloom wiping himself with a prize-winning story. Another angle is to look the ad through the lens of Bloom; his only other attempts at art-making are centered around women as well, specifically Molly. In Episode IV, Bloom remembers how he used to record everything Molly said while she dressed (especially interesting given the importance of her dressing in Episode VII). It’s worth noting that both of these literary endeavors are, in a sense that might be significant to Bloom, fruitless, as they are both centered around women with whom Bloom could potentially, but does not, have a sexual relationship.