Dubliners James Joyces novel Dubliners is a collection of seemingly odd stories that are united by the themes of death, corruption and spiritual decay. However, in stories A Little Cloud and Painful Case, the plot revolves around people missing social and romantic opportunities, because of being unable to expand their minds. A Little Cloud tell us about the meeting of two friends, who had not seen each other for 8 years, Little Chandler and Gallaher. Little Chandler considers Gallaher as person who was able to progress in life, because he was working as reporter for one of Londons newspapers. Chandler is shown to us as a provincial person, who has a dream of becoming famous poet. He hopes that Gallaher would be able to help him out to achieve his dream, because he is rumored to have many connections in London.
Chandler is represented to us as a true Irishmen: melancholic and indecisive, with unsubstantiated longing for greatness: Melancholy was the dominant note of his temperament, he thought, but it was a melancholy tempered by recurrences of faith and resignation and simple joy. If he could give expression to it in a book of poems, perhaps men would listen. He would never be popular: he saw that (Joyce).
While reading about Chandlers dreams of gaining a social prominence, readers subconsciously begin to think of Gallaher as someone whose ingenuity allowed him to overcome socio-political barriers of his time and enabled him to realize his true calling. However, after Gallaher opens his mouth, we begin to understand that he is not quite as sophisticated, as his friend thinks of him. In fact, he appears to be a simple man with over boosted ego. Once Chandler asks him to describe Paris, Gallaher reveals his petty provinciality by saying: Everything in Paris is gay.
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They believe in enjoying life–and don’t you think they’re right? If you want to enjoy yourself properly, you must go to Paris. And, mind you, they’ve a great feeling for the Irish there. When they heard I was from Ireland they were ready to eat me, man (Joyce).
In fact, Gallaher is presented to us as comic character, whose has none of the qualities that his friend assigns him. Nevertheless, the flow of conversation reveals both Chandler and Gallaher as being highly idealistic characters, even though that Gallaher has clearly become a cynic. Even though that we might feel contempt towards Gallahers faked sophistication, he is shown as someone who has taste for adventures. Even though that Chandler is not corrupted by the ways of the world, he clearly lacks decisiveness. Therefore, it is hard for us to imagine that will ever be able to actualize his dream.
Many stories in Joyces book relate to the idea of failed quest. Even though that Chandler is depicted as someone who only contemplates leaving Ireland, author does not leave a doubt that he will never be able to embark on adventure, because there are too many ties that hold him down. After coming back home, Chandler looses his temper with his child in very irrational manner. Apparently, he does not understand what caused him to get angry in the first place, but it is obvious Chandler hates his family routine because it provides him with a spiritual comfort, which has turned him into a soft and indecisive person. Even his physical appearance does not leave a doubt in this respect: His hands were white and small, his frame was fragile, his voice was quiet and his manners were refined. He took the greatest care of his fair silken hair and moustache and used perfume discreetly on his handkerchief (Joyce).
We can say that A Little Cloud is a story of a failed quest, which never began.
This is why it is so typically Irish. At the time when James Joyce was writing his novel, there was only one way for an ordinary man from Ireland to gain social prominence immigrating to another country. Many industrious Irishmen used their chance to leave the cursed island, yet, there were also many people whose sentimental nature prevented them from doing so. Chandler is the embodiment of sentimentalism and indecisiveness, this is why we cannot be sympathetic towards him, even though that he is a good husband and father. Story Painful Case is much more tragic. James Duffy meets a married woman Mrs. Sinico, with whom he gradually begins to fall in love, while her husband is away.
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... embraced the happiness he deserve.However, Duffy lacks the courage to pursue his happiness especially with Mrs. Sinico, whom he has a wholly ... he has furniture to pay for (Joyce, 70). Like most of Joyces characters, Little Chandler seemed rather disinterested in changing his life ... the age of the characters who steadily grow older story by story, to represent the different facets of a Dubliners ...
Both characters have much in common. They have similar artistic tastes, they both like to walk in the park and the most important of all they are lonely. While describing Duffy author says: He had neither companions nor friends, church nor creed. He lived his spiritual life without any communion with others, visiting his relatives at Christmas and escorting them to the cemetery when they died. He performed these two social duties for old dignity’s sake but conceded nothing further to the conventions which regulate the civic life (Joyce).
However, Duffy decides to end his love affair with Mrs. Sinico, because he thinks that it is socially inappropriate. Four years later, he learns that Mrs. Sinico has committed suicide, apparently because she could no longer bear her loneliness. Duffy begins to feel sorry for the fact that he had once rejected her love, but it is too late. Thus, we can say that Painful Case is a story of unrealized opportunity.
Many Joyces other stories contain this motif as well. Author wanted to show that the code of social ethics, which is based on Christian doctrine, prevents people from achieving happiness. It is repressive in its nature and it turns peoples integrity and honesty against themselves. Joyce describes love affair between Duffy and Mrs. Sinico as something natural. It seems that they were meant to be together: Little by little he entangled his thoughts with hers.
He lent her books, provided her with ideas, shared his intellectual life with her. She listened to all (Joyce).
Author describes a mature love, which is based on psychological compatibility between man and women, rather than on blind passion. Mrs. Sinico is described as lonely, but under no circumstance, we can refer to her as being desperate. She radiates intelligence: Her face, which must have been handsome, had remained intelligent. It was an oval face with strongly marked features.
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The eyes were very dark blue and steady (Joyce).
We can think of her as an embodiment of feminine virtues, which makes her death even more tragic. It is only after Mrs. Sinicos death that Duffy had realized that he could not live without her. At the end of story, he is shown as being consumed by the feeling of guilt. His indecisiveness and excessive concern for his reputation prevented Duffy from achieving happiness with a woman he loved. Just as with the case of Chandler, we feel sorry for the main character, but we cannot be sympathetic towards him.
Duffy proved to be incapable of breaking social taboos, even though that he was proud of being a freethinker, who took pleasure in reading the works of Nietzsche: His room still bore witness of the orderliness of his mind. Some new pieces of music encumbered the music-stand in the lower room and on his shelves stood two volumes by Nietzsche: Thus Spake Zarathustra and The Gay Science (Joyce).
Declaring some abstract ideals and practicing them is not the same thing. The ability to act according to own beliefs, Joyce considers as mans most important virtue. Duffy clearly lacks it, but the worst thing of all is that he used to pose as person who was above social prejudices. This prompted Mrs.
Sinico to think of him as someone that he was not. It appears that this was one on the reasons why she began to loose her faith in humanity: One human being had seemed to love him and he had denied her life and happiness: he had sentenced her to ignominy, a death of shame (Joyce).
We can refer to the characters of Mrs. Sinico and Duffy as being highly allegorical. Mrs. Sinico represents Ireland, which simply waits for someone who would help her to realize its own destiny.
Duffy, on the other hand, represents Irish intellectual elite, at the time, which was both: overly sophisticated and impotent. This is why we cannot consider Joyces novel as merely a fictional work. It is rather a philosophical piece, in form of a novel. A Little Cloud and Painful Case are rightly thought of as the most literary refined stories in Joyces novel. Even though that they are very short, Joyces skills as author, does not leave us any other choice then to get emotionally attached to the characters, described in his masterpiece.
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Bibliography:
Joyce, James Dubliners. 2001. Project Guttenberg.
21 Apr. 2007. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/dblnr11h.htm Abstract: This paper analyses characters in James Joyces stories A Little Cloud and Painful Case. Outline: Pp. 1-2 A Little Cloud Pp. 2-4 Painful Case.
