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SIMON DEDALUS
he spends a great deal of his time reliving past experiences, lost in his own sentimental nostalgia
Joyce often uses Simon to symbolize the bonds and burdens that Stephen's family and nationality place upon him as he
grows up
- Simon is a nostalgic, tragic figure: he has a deep pride in tradition, but he is unable to keep his own affairs in order
- to Stephen, his father Simon represents the parts of family, nation, and tradition that hold him back, and against which
he feels he must rebel
EMMA CLERY
- she is a shadowy figure throughout the novel, and we know almost nothing about her even at the novel's end
- she is Stephen's "beloved," the young girl to whom he is intensely attracted over the course of many years
- Stephen does not know Emma particularly well, and is generally too embarrassed or afraid to talk to her, but feels a
powerful response stirring within him whenever he sees her
- for Stephen, Emma symbolizes one end of a spectrum of femininity
- Stephen seems able to perceive only the extremes of this spectrum: for him, women are either pure, distant, and
unapproachable, like Emma, or impure, sexual, and common, like the prostitutes he visits
THE DUBLINERS
- a collection of 15 short stories about a group of Dublin residents reflecting paralysis of the city
- the stories are characterized by key symbolic moments which Joyce called epiphanies and which allow each of the
protagonists to experience a deep level of self awareness
the stories: The sisters, an encounter, Araby, Eveline, after the race, Two Gallants, The Boarding House, A little cloud,
Counterparts, Clay, A painful case, Ivy day in the Committee Room, A mother
POINT OF VIEW
-the first three stories are narrated by the main character of each story, which in all three cases is a young, unnamed boy.
-the rest of the stories are narrated by an anonymous third person who pays close attention to circumstantial detail though in
a detached manner
THEMES
THE PRISON OF ROUTINE
- restrictive routines and the repetitive, mundane details of everyday life mark the lives of Joyces Dubliners and trap them
in circles of frustration, restraint, and violence
- In Counterparts, Farrington, who makes a living copying documents, demonstrates the dangerous potential of repetition
- Farringtons work mirrors his social and home life, causing his anger to worsen
-Farrington, with his explosive physical reactions, illustrates more than any other character the brutal ramifications of a
repetitive existence
-the most consistent consequences of following mundane routines are loneliness and unrequited love
- Eveline, in the story that shares her name, gives up her chance at love by choosing her familiar life over an unknown
adventure, even though her familiar routines are tinged with sadness and abuse
THE DESIRE FOR ESCAPE
- the characters in Dubliners may be citizens of the Irish capital, but many of them long for escape and adventure in other
countries
- such longings, however, are never actually realized by the stories protagonists
- Evelines hopes for a new life in Argentina dissolve on the docks of the citys river
THE INTERSECTION OF LIFE AND DEATH
- Dubliners opens with The Sisters, which explores death and the process of remembering the dead, and closes with The
Dead, which invokes the quiet calm of snow that covers both the dead and the living
- in Eveline, Ivy Day in the Committee Room, and The Dead, memories of the dead haunt the living and color every
action
MOTIFS
PARALYSIS
- in most of the stories in Dubliners, a character has a desire, faces obstacles to it, then ultimately relents and suddenly stops
all action
- these moments of paralysis show the characters inability to change their lives and reverse the routines that are an obstacle
their wishes
EPIPHANY
- characters in Dubliners experience both great and small revelations in their everyday lives, moments that Joyce himself
referred to as epiphanies, a word with connotations of religious revelation
- these epiphanies do not bring new experiences and the possibility of reform, but they allow characters to better understand
their particular circumstances, usually full of sadness and routine, which they then return to with resignation and frustration
TONE
- the stories of Dubliners form a self-conscious examination of Joyces native city in Ireland
- because the narrator maintains a neutral and distant presence, detecting Joyces attitude toward his characters is not always
eas
- the abundance of details about the grim realities of the city and the focus on hardships, however, create a tragic tone and
offer a subtle critique.