Origins of the Theme of Betrayal in
James Joyce's Dubliners
Throughout his early years, certain people and events heightened Joyce's awareness of the hopelessly corrupt environment of Ireland that had betrayed so many of its own. The more profound of these enlightening inspirations were the betrayal and downfall of Charles Stewart Parnell, the indifference of Henrik Ibsen towards literary protests, the neglected native artistry of James Clarence Mangan, and Joyce's own role as Prefect. These occurrences provoked Joyce's bitter resentment towards Ireland, initiating the gradual alienation towards his church and homeland. The issue of betrayal is prevalent throughout Dubliners, for Joyce imagined it, hated it, and feared it.
James Joyce was born into a country dominated by England, and the cause of Irish freedom captured his imagination at an early age. The spokesman for this cause was Charles Stewart Parnell, who became a heroic figure to Joyce. It was the early period of Joyce's life that saw Parnell greatest influence and tragic betrayal.
By 1889 the attempt to implicate Parnell in the Phoenix Park murders of 1882 had failed, but in the same year he was accused of adultery in the divorce suit of captain O' Shea. At first it appeared that Parnell might weather this scandal, but a coalition of political enemies and devout Catholics ousted him from leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and the rural population of Ireland turned against their leader with savage hatred. Even Parnell's Lieutenant Tim Healy, who had vowed never to betray his leader, finally turned against Parnell. After a year of campaigning against his enemies, Parnell died on October 6th, 1891—this day marks the beginning of James Joyce's resentful feelings towards Ireland, which were eventually revealed in Dubliners.
When Parnell's body was brought to Dublin for burial, thousands were waiting for a glimpse of the coffin. Among the spectators was St. John Irvine, who mournfully recalled:
It was taken from a deal case—'which was thrown aside, but, as it fell, crowds seized it and tore it into fragments that they might have even that as a relic of him'—and carried to City Hall. It lay there under O'Connell's statue through a wet and stormy morning and noon, while t...
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...s Clarence Mangan evoked in Joyce the fear of restriction and limitation, leading to his departure from Ireland. From Henrik Ibsen, Joyce learned to ignore protest and controversy, heightening his bitter resentment towards Ireland after nine years of frustration in finding a publisher for Dubliners. And it was Joyce's failed role as Prefect of the Sodality that led to his abandonment of Irish Catholicism. His early life proved to Joyce that Ireland was corrupt, both morally and spiritually. Therefore, Joyce's alienation from, and resentment toward, Ireland were inevitable, as was the theme of betrayal in Dubliners.
Works Cited
1) Goldberg, S.L. James Joyce. New York: Grove Press, 1962.
2) Kershner. R.B. Joyce, Bakhtin, and Popular Literature: Chronicles of Disorder. North Carolina: North Carolina U.P., 1989
3) Mangalaner, Marvin, and Richard Kain. Joyce: The Man, the Work, the Reputation. New York: New York U.P., 1956.
4) Sullivan, Kevin. Joyce among the Jesuits. New York: Columbia U.P., 1958.
5) Ellman, Richard. The Conscience of Joyce. Toronto and New York: Oxford U.P., 1977.
6) Garrett, Peter K. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Dubliners. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1968.
Harper American Literature, Inc. Harper & Row Publishers: New York, 1987, pp. 113-117. 1308 - 1311 -.
Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. Literature and Its Times. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Print.
Seamus Heaney's The Strand at Lough Beg describes Colum McCartney's death in three different ways: The way he might have died, why he shouldn't have died, and the way he should have been put to rest. It is important to notice how Heany doesn't mention, once, any vindictive hatred towards the killers but instead focuses on love and an undying respect for the dead. The poem starts out with a tempestuous seen, that connects to all the readers senses and introduces us to the scene of his death. However, the poem develops into a loving and heartbreaking eulogy to Colum McCartney, through Heaney's expression of light, mystery, change, and way of living.
Magalaner, Marvin and Richard Kain. Joyce: The man, the Work, the Reputation. New York University Press, New York: 1956.
James Joyce wrote the book Dubliners; Joyce expresses many different types of emotions throughout the book. The emotions portray individuals in society, and light and dark. The emotions of individuals are examined throughout the stories by other members in society. The stories that express the ideas are: “The Encounter,” “Eveline”, and “The Dead.” The symbolism of individuals in society expresses many different situations that are happening in the characters lives. The symbolism of light goes along with the idea of feeling happy and enjoying life. The theme of dark shows the individuals fighting, and having a negative outlook on life.
Reidhead J. ed. (1998, Fifth Edition) The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume 1: Norton & Company, New York
" American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202. Wright, Richard. A.
Baym, N. (2007). he Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton.
Works Cited: Benstock, Bernard. Critical Essays on James Joyce. G.K. Hall & Co. Boston, Massachusetts: 1985. Joyce, James. Dubliners.
In James Joyce’s Dubliners, the theme of escape tends to be a trend when characters are faced with critical decisions. Joyce’s novel presents a bleak and dark view of Ireland; his intentions by writing this novel are to illustrate people’s reasons to flee Ireland. In the stories “Eveline, “Counterparts”, and the “Dead”, characters are faced with autonomous decisions that shape their lives. This forlorn world casts a gloomy shadow over the characters of these stories. These stories are connected by their similar portrayal of Ireland. They clearly represent Joyce’s views on people’s discontent with Ireland.
A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to "write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis" (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyce's feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories -- The Sisters, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangan's sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotter's comment that "… a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age…" suggests that the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: "But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something.
1 Joyce, James : The Dead , Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol.2, sixth edition
In Dubliners, James Joyce tells short stories of individuals struggling with life, in the city of Dublin. “It is a long road that has no turning” (Irish Proverb). Many individuals fight the battle and continue on the road. However, some give up and get left behind. Those who continue to fight the battle, often deal with constant struggle and suffering. A reoccurring theme, in which Joyce places strong emphasis on, is the constant struggle of fulfilling responsibilities. These responsibilities include; work, family and social expectations. Joyce writes about these themes because characters often feel trapped and yearn to escape from these responsibilities. In “The Little Cloud”, “Counterparts”, and “The Dead” characters are often trapped in unhappy living situations, often leading to a desire of escape from reality and daily responsibilities.
Baym, Nina et al. Ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 8th ed. New York:
Peake, C.H. James Joyce: The Citizen and The Artist. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1977. 56-109.