Themes in 3 Stories by James Joyce

The purpose of this research is to examine the theme of paralysis - spiritual, social and economic - in James Joyce's collection of short stories entitled Dubliners. It will compare and contrast this theme as it appears in three of the stories: "The Sisters," "Eveline" and "Grace."

In "The Sisters," spiritual paralysis is symbolized by the character of the old, infirm priest. A priest who has broken a chalice, gone mad and as a result died. Here is the symbol of the Catholic Church, in a devotedly Catholic country, in which the church represents the highest order of moral authority, reduced, as we discover at the end of the story, to sitting in a dark confession-box laughing out loud to himself.

We see and learn about the priest's activities through the eyes of Joyce's young male protagonist, who while he was alive, supplied the priest with his snuff and was assiduously tutored in the languages and rituals of the church. The protagonist describes him as he was living in his tiny, dark room behind an umbrella shop:

Even as he raised his large trembling hand to his

nose little clouds of smoke dribbled thru his

fingers over the front of his coat . . . which gave

his ancient priestly garments their green faded look.

. . . When he smiled he used to uncover his big dis-

closed teeth and let his tongue lie upon his lower lip.

Here then is Joyce's portrait of ecclesiastical authority who has had an ambiguous relationship with the young child

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ounded by a spiritual, social and economic paralysis. She is a timid young woman of 20, who, except for the final pages, sits at her window in a cramped, dusty, malodorous room debating whether to elope with a bohemian sailor or continue her drab lifeless Dublin existence. The pervasive mood is that of exhaustion, of impassiveness. As opposed to "The Sisters" the church and its doctrines does not play the central role. Rather it is portrayed as a factor in the matrix of social conditions that spiritually paralyzes the young woman. Like the young protagonist in "The Sisters" she is caught between two ideas, unable to make a decision. Her daily life is devoid of love, happiness and spiritual satisfaction. She is a harassed store clerk, who is demeaned by her employer and her customers. Her father is temperamental, drinks heavily and has occasional paroxysms of violence. Her mother has died, so she has to raise two children plus do all the shopping. But she has promised her mother on her death bed to keep the family together. Her only pleasant moments are when she remembers her past, her youth when she played in the fields which are now covered with houses. Arriving at the dock about to embark on her journey to Buenos

Category: Literature - T