Joyce said that in "Dubliners" his intention was "to write a
chapter in the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene
because the city seemed to me the centre of paralysis".The 15 stories which
make up the collection are studies on the decay and banality of lower
middle-class urban life and the paralysis to which Joyce refers is both
intellectual and moral.The characters who appear in the stories lead uneventual
and frustrated lives,which are described through carefully chosen detaila.The
fact that there is very little action points again to the paralysis and monotony
of life in a modern city.The stories are divided into 4 groups.As Joyce
explained:"I have tried to present (Dubin's paralysis) under four of its
aspects:childhood,adolescence,maturity and public life.The stories are arranged
in this order.". The sisters After the race An encounter *** CHILDHOOD The
boarding house *** ADOLESCENCE Araby Eveline Two gallants A little cloud Ivy day
in the committee room Clay A mother *** PUBLIC LIFE Counterparts *** MATURE LIFE
Grace A painful case And then the last story,"The dead",is
longer,subtler and it can be cosidered as Joyce's 1st masterpiece. Themes
Though,at first glance,the stories seem simply to be realistic,objective
descriptions of everyday life,they are psychologically eventful.The
psychological action often takes the form of an EPIPHANY in which a commonplace
action or object brings a character an unexpected revelation truth and a deep
understanding of life. The chief theme whcih holds the 15 stories together is
the failure to find a way out from PARALYSIS,both physical and moral,linked to
religion,politics and culture.Dublin is the heart of this paralysis and all
citizens are victims.The moral center of Dubliners,however,is not paralysis
alone but the revelation of paralysis to its victims.Each character comes to a
knowledge,an awareness of his own condition and for a moment he's able to see
with clarity what is the best way to make all his/her dreams and hopes come
true.But each character is always defeated from the environment,which shows to
possess more strenght.That's why we have the impression of inactivity,almost
immobility.The idea of a moral paralysis is expressed sometimes in terms of
physical arrest,in a real weakening of characters' impulse and ability to move
far or in the right direction because of their frustation or their complete lack
of orientation.Paralysed by boredom and anguish the characters try in vain to
escape from the oppressive morale imposed by the materialistic society and they
often look for love because love is the right way to escape from solitude and
the sense of enclosure they experience. Most of the short stories,though, end
with a defeat and a consequential frustration of the character.Very often it's a
banal situation,a trivial gesture or sight which cause the self realization of
the characters about their no-way-out lives.That sudden awareness is properly
called "epiphany",which is exactly "the sudden revelation of a
hidden reality thriugh casual words or events".When Joyce's
"heroes" realize their condition we become aware that the revelation
of Dublin to its citizens reveals our world and ourselves. Characters The
characters are also unable to relate successully either to each other or with
the world; if Dubliners are paralysed in their relationships, their paralysis is
often of a sexual nature. Narrative technique The omniscient narrator and the
single point of view are rejected: each story is told from the perspective of a
character.Narrated monolgue, in the form of indirect thought and often of free
indirect thought,is widely used:it consists in the presentation of the
protagonist's thoughts through limited mediation of the narrator and allows the
reader to acquire direct knowledge of the character. Language The linguistic
register is varied, since the language used in all the stories suits the age,the
social class and the role of the characters,though most of the times the
language is realistic. Historical hints The series of short stories included in
dubliners depict a broken morale in and around the city of Dublin.The early
1900's marked a time of disheartened spirits not only in Dublin but all of
Ireland.England still clutched Ireland under its own control, that's the main
reason which made citizens bitter and dismayed.It wasn't until 1922 that Ireland
freed itself from England.Up until that time,Ireland was occupied and ruled from
Britain.The occupation had begun hundreds of years before,but from the end of
the 18th century,a distinct Irish nationalism began to evolve.From 1801
onwards,Ireland had no Parliament of its own.It was ruled by the Parliament in
Britain whcih consisted of the House of Commons and House of Lords.Meanwhile,in
the 1840's,a small group formed out of the Young Ireland movement.The
leader,Thomas Davis,expressed a concept of nationality embracing all who lived
in Ireland regardless of creed or origin.A small insurrection in 1848 failed,but
their ideas influenced the coming generations. The unity of Dubliners In
"Dubliners" the most important aspect is the systematic use of
symbols.Such images,significantly disposed, give a firm texture and pattern to
the individual stories of "Dubliners" and points out the integrity of
the work as a whole.This unifying aspect is evident in the realistic elements of
the book and appears in the struggle of certain characters to escape the
circumstances of existence in Ireland and especially in Dublin,"the centre
of paralysis".In Dubliners,none of Joyce's protagonists moves very far
though some aspire to go far.Yet their dreams of escape and the desire to
"fly away to another country" are really suggestive.In Dubliners,the
meaning of movement is complicated by that symbolic paralysis which Joyce
himself referred to, an arrest imposed from within,not by the external
situations, but by a deficiency of impulse and power. that's why it should be no
surprise to discover in a book developing the theme of moral paralysis a
structure of movements and stases, a system of motions and arrests,involving
every story.There's above all a tendency to eastward movement among the
characters of Dubliners.Interpreted realistically,without recours to
symbolism,this aspect shows the frustration of Dubliners unable to escape to a
more living world.However, from the symbolic point of view,the eastward motion
or the desire of it has a much more complicated meaning.Eastward movement theme
finds its roots in the catholicism; the ancient custom of building churches with
their heads to the east so that the celebrant of the mass faced east: in doing
so the priest looked toward Eden,the earthly paradise; the cathecumens 4th
century turned to the west to renounce Satan and to the east to recite the creed
before they stepped into the baptismal font; Chist returning for the Last
Judgment was expected to come from east; East: universally accepted emblem of
beginning and place of birth. So, that "unity of Dubliners" which
critics talk about , is realized in terms of religious images and ideas(most of
them distinctively Christian). Joyce's schematic arrangement of virtues and sins
in "Dubliners" First 3 stories-- faith,hope,love (THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES)
From 5th to the 11th story-- pride,covettousness,lust,envy,anger,gluttony,sloth
(SINS)**P.S.the 7 stories devoted to the sins occupy exactly the central
position of the book) From 12th to 14th story--justice,temperance,prudence(CARDINAL
VIRTUES) 15th story--No virtue or sin is given (maybe Joyce aims to suggest its
predominance). The pattern of virtues and sins and the pattern of motions and
arrests in Dubliners express one development. The stories The sisters-This story
is a riddle.Nothing comes quite clear.The nameless boy who tells the story is
"puzzled" by hints and "intricate questions" and so are
we."The sisters" opens simply with night,paralysis and death which,as
we have seen,point toward the final story. Central words (they express men's
physical,moral,spiritual imperfections): -paralysis (physical imperfection)
-gnomon (imperfect geometrical figure) -simony (ecclesiastical
sin**imperfection) About the plot, almost nothing happens. "The poor Father
Flynn" is talked about by the old Cotter and the sisters and thought about
or remembered by the boy.The story is mostly made of talk and memory from which
we learn that Father Flynn was a queer one (un tipo strano),untidy,torpid and
probably perverse. Epiphany in the story:the boy's nightmare of Father Flynn's
grey face and his murmured confession Themes: - confession (in the dream) -
comunion (Father F. drops a chalice; when dead he "loosely" hold a
chalice; the glass of winereceived by the boy at the table (altar). An
encounter-This story seems a continuation of "The sisters".
Connections: -both stories are told in 1st person by the same boy,who's now a
little older; -both have archetypal themes: in "The Sisters"**image of
the father in "An encounter"**image of the journey or,better,of the
QUEST(=that is,journey with a goal). This quest is for the PIGEON HOUSE,Dublin's
electric light and power station on the breakwater in the bay. Symbols: - light
and power suggest God; - the pigeon**traditional icon of the Holy Ghost. The
boys never get to the Pigeon House.Their quest ends in frustration.They meet an
old man near the bank of the Dodder.He really looks like Father Flynn because of
his clothes,teeth and perversity.the old man is called by Mahony as a
"queer old JOSSER"(un tipo molto strano)***nothing in Joyce is
accidental."JOSSER" can be English slang for a simpleton (sempliciotto).Thosuh
this is not the right case.But the word can also be Pidgin English (**inglese
semplificato misto ad elementi indigeni) fro a devotee of a Joss (=idolo) or a
God.Probably not God,as some have thought, the pervert here may imply what men,
unable to reach the Pigeon House (that is, The Trinity), find in place of him.
Other themes: -ILLUSION AND DISILLUSIONMENT (desiring relief from the boredom of
school and Dublin,the boy wants to escape**"green eyes"=symbol of
escape). There's disappintment because: -the green-eyed Norvegian sailor shouts
"All right!All right!"(that seems commonplace) -the boy meets a
pervert with his bottle-green eyes. Araby:another story of
illusion,disillusionment and awareness.That North Ricmond Street,where the boy
lives (and Joyce himself once lived) is not without meaning.In spite of its
brown aspect (brown and yellow) are Joyce's colors pf paralysis and decay) in
this brown street we have the exciting figure of Mangan's sister.Since
Mangan,one of Joyce's favorite poets, dedicated "Dark Rasaleen" to his
country, it seems that Mangan's sister is Ireland herself.This kind of
"Sybil" talks about "Araby",a bazaar,which promises
"Eastern enchantment".Talking about this enchanting place,Mangan's
siter pushes the boy to go there.Plus, in that way she starts the boy on his
quest.With a florin in his hand, the boy arrives at the building displaying the
"magical name"but it is too late for the shop was closing. Epiphany of
the story -silence ("it is like that which pervades a church after a
service") -the stupid conversation of a young lady with two men (this is a
typical epiphany because it shows the emptiness of the moment and provides the
sinking sensation) The promise of enchantment has benn followed by
disenchantment . Last sentence (it shows the moment of realization):
"gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided
by vanity". Eveline - This story is the best expression of Joyce's
paralysis. The plot is simple. This girl, who has a dull job and leats a dull
life whit a brutal father, is offered escape by a sailor. But Irish paralysis
frustrates her bold project. The end doesn't show awareness but inability,
arrest. Images, though less abundant than in the first three stories, are never
insignificant. The most important images, however, include life and death: -
Dust finds its opposites in the good air of "Buenos Aires" and in the
sea. - Buenos Aires, never reached, is Eveline's Pigeon House (connection with
"an encounter"). - Also in "Eveline", as in each of the
first three stories, there is a missing priest, represented here by a
"Yellowing" photograph in the parlor. After the race - This story was
published during 1904. We notice a Joyce's unfamiliarity with the subject. He
almost didn't know anything about cars, yachts etc. etc.. Such ignorance may
explain the failure of this story. Jimmy, the protagonist, may represent Joyce
during his tempopary infatuation with speed, elegance and machine. Big admirer
of Frenchmen, Hungarians, Englishmen and Americans, Jimmy finds in their cars
and yachts his pigeon house and his Buenos Aires. The bitter realization of his
true condition comes with the grey light of day (that's quite unnatural as
well).