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Click the above images to get Video explanation for the short story “The Dead” by James Joyce
BA English Literature
[2nd Year, 3rd Semester]
British Literature
UNIT 4: Short Story
About
the author:
James
Joyce was born on February 2, 1882, in the town of Rathgar, near Dublin,
Ireland. Joyce began to work on the story that would later become A Portrait of
the Artist as a Young Man. Published in serial form in 1914-15. James Joyce
died in Zurich on January 13, 1941 of an ulcer.
About
Story:
The
Dead was the last one to be composed for the collection, when Dubliners has
been already finished. Along with Dubliners it was first published in 1914. The
Dead is the longest story in the book and differs from the other fourteen stories
due to the positioning as the last one of the cycle, the length and the tone of
the story.
Characters:
· Gabriel Conroy – (the main character of
the story) a teacher and part-time book reviewer.
· Kate Morkan and Julia Morkan – Gabriel
and Mary Jane's aunts. They are elderly sisters who throw a party every year
during Christmas time.
· Mary Jane Morkan – niece of Kate and
Julia Morkan. Her father Pat died and her aunts took her into their care
·
Lily – the caretaker's daughter.
· Gretta Conroy – Gabriel's wife. She reveals the story of her first love, Michael Furey, to
Gabriel on the night of the party.
·
Molly Ivors – a long-time acquaintance
of the family.
·
Mr Browne – only Protestant guest at
the party.
·
Freddy Malins – an alcoholic and friend
of the family.
·
Mrs Malins – Freddy Malins' mother.
·
Bartell D'Arcy – a tenor.
· Patrick Morkan - Gabriel’s grandfather
who owned a starch mill. Gabriel recounts the story of his grandfather’s horse,
Johnny, who walked in circles around King Billy’s statue.
· Constantine - Gabriel’s brother.
Summary:
At the annual dance and dinner party
held by Kate and Julia Morkan and their young niece, Mary Jane Morkan, the
housemaid Lily frantically greets guests. Set at or just before the feast of
the Epiphany on January 6, which celebrates the manifestation of Christ’s
divinity to the Magi, the party draws together a variety of relatives and
friends. Kate and Julia particularly await the arrival of their favorite
nephew, Gabriel Conroy, and his wife, Gretta. When they arrive, Gabriel attempts
to chat with Lily as she takes his coat, but she snaps in reply to his question
about her love life. Gabriel ends the uncomfortable exchange by giving Lily a
generous tip, but the experience makes him anxious. He relaxes when he joins
his aunts and Gretta, though Gretta’s good-natured teasing about his dedication
to galoshes irritates him. They discuss their decision to stay at a hotel that
evening rather than make the long trip home. The arrival of another guest, the
always-drunk Freddy Malins, disrupts the conversation. Gabriel makes sure that
Freddy is fit to join the party while the guests chat over drinks in between
taking breaks from the dancing. An older gentleman, Mr. Browne, flirts with
some young girls, who dodge his advances. Gabriel steers a drunken Freddy
toward the drawing room to get help from Mr. Browne, who attempts to sober
Freddy up.
The
party continues with a piano performance by Mary Jane. More dancing follows,
which finds Gabriel paired up with Miss Ivors, a fellow university instructor.
A fervent supporter of Irish culture, Miss Ivors embarrasses Gabriel by
labeling him a “West Briton” for writing literary reviews for a conservative
newspaper. Gabriel dismisses the accusation, but Miss Ivors pushes the point by
inviting Gabriel to visit the Aran Isles, where Irish is spoken, during the
summer. When Gabriel declines, explaining that he has arranged a cycling trip
on the continent, Miss Ivors corners him about his lack of interest in his own
country. Gabriel exclaims that he is sick of Ireland. After the dance, he flees
to a corner and engages in a few more conversations, but he cannot forget the
interlude with Miss Ivors.
Just
before dinner, Julia sings a song for the guests. Miss Ivors makes her exit to
the surprise of Mary Jane and Gretta, and to the relief of Gabriel. Finally,
dinner is ready, and Gabriel assumes his place at the head of the table to
carve the goose. After much fussing, everyone eats, and finally Gabriel
delivers his speech, in which he praises Kate, Julia, and Mary Jane for their
hospitality. Framing this quality as an Irish strength, Gabriel laments the
present age in which such hospitality is undervalued. Nevertheless, he insists,
people must not linger on the past and the dead, but live and rejoice in the
present with the living. The table breaks into loud applause for Gabriel’s
speech, and the entire party toasts their three hostesses.
Later,
guests begin to leave, and Gabriel recounts a story about his grandfather and
his horse, which forever walked in circles even when taken out of the mill
where it worked. After finishing the anecdote, Gabriel realizes that Gretta
stands transfixed by the song that Mr. Bartell D’Arcy sings in the drawing
room. When the music stops and the rest of the party guests assemble before the
door to leave, Gretta remains detached and thoughtful. Gabriel is enamored with
and preoccupied by his wife’s mysterious mood and recalls their courtship as
they walk from the house and catch a cab into Dublin.
At the
hotel, Gabriel grows irritated by Gretta’s behavior. She does not seem to share
his romantic inclinations, and in fact, she bursts into tears. Gretta confesses
that she has been thinking of the song from the party because a former lover
had sung it to her in her youth in Galway. Gretta recounts the sad story of
this boy, Michael Furey, who died after waiting outside of her window in the
cold. Gretta later falls asleep, but Gabriel remains awake, disturbed by
Gretta’s new information.
His wife is an individual with her own past experiences, and he has played a relatively small role in her life. Gabriel suddenly senses the world of the dead, and sees his own life fading, meaningless, into this “grey impalpable world.” However, Gabriel’s thoughts in the final lines of Dubliners suggest that the living might in fact be able to free themselves and live unfettered by deadening routines and the past. Even in January, snow is unusual in Ireland and cannot last forever. He hears the snow falling outside, indiscriminately covering all things living and dead.
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