This story really tested my patience. It is a slow and brooding piece. This is the kind of story where you (or at least, I) do not grasp the point of the story until the very end. This is also the kind of story where nothing explicitly tragic occurs, where the tragedy is exposed very subliminally. My immediate response as I was reading through the story was: “Too Irish for me.” (Whatever that means.) However, I have to confess that once I persevered to the end, the meaning of the story began to reveal itself to me slowly but surely and I found myself unable to shake the story from my head.
The story is about those who are living, those who are dead and those who are alive but are really dead. The ones who are alive but are really dead are ‘dead’ because they lost something. Lily is ‘dead’ because she lost her faith in men. Aunt Julia is ‘dead’ because she lost her faith in the Church. Gretta is ‘dead’ because she lost her first and only true love. The events that occur in the story all revolve around the main character of Gabriel. The key to grasping the meaning of the events that unfold throughout the story is to observe its effects on Gabriel. All the events and dialogue in the first three quarters of the story serves one purpose and one purpose only, to set up Gabriel’s reaction at the end of the story. In fact, the author even tells us this by this line in the denouement: He wondered at his riot of emotions of an hour before. From what had it proceeded? From his aunt’s supper, from his own foolish speech, from the wine and dancing, the merry-making when saying good-night in the hall, the pleasure of the walk along the river in the snow. To prove my point, I have conducted a full analysis of the story listing all the main events of the story in chronological order and examining the effects of each event on Gabriel and how it sets up his reaction at the end of the story. The results of my analysis can be found in the appendix.
One of the most striking features of the piece is the way the author creates his cast of characters and how he makes them interact with each other. The title of the story, “The Dead” refers not just to those who are physically dead but more importantly, those who are still alive but for one reason or another, are dead to the world. The reason why this story was initially difficult for me was because the characters whom this story is about (the “dead”), are all in the background for most of the story: Lily, Gretta, Aunt Julia, Mrs Malins.) The author further accentuates their insignificance by explicitly pairing them up with very dominant characters. Thus, in the story, Gretta (referred to as Mrs Conroy throughout the narrative for added anonymity) is overshadowed by Gabriel, Aunt Julia is overshadowed by Aunt Kate and to a certain extent Mr Browne, Mrs Malins is overshadowed by her son, Freddy Malins, Johnny, dear never-to-be-forgotten Johnny overshadowed, quite literally, by the late lamented Patrick Morkan, and Lily overshadowed by everyone else.
The way the dialogue is handled is especially noticeable using dashes instead of dialogue markers. This creates a muted feeling, a hushed sensation, like I’m seeing a painting of the scene instead of the scene itself. The only other time I have encountered such a technique for handling dialogue is in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain which has a similar feel.
The way the author develops his characters is especially noteworthy. The character of Gabriel is slowly developed throughout the piece as he is the focal point and the protagonist of the story. Aunt Julia’s character is established at the beginning of the story and midway through the story, the author reveals the reason why Aunt Julia is ‘dead’ as a precursor to the archetypal “living dead” character: Mrs Conroy aka Gretta. The author introduces Mrs Conroy at the very beginning of the story yet refuses to develop her character throughout the piece preferring to leak bits of information about her in the narrative. Only in the climax of the story does he let her character bloom. This then is how the author develops his “living dead” theme. There are three main characters that exemplify the “living dead” theme; Lily, Aunt Julia and Mrs Conroy. He introduces the character of Lily in the very first sentence of the story and very rapidly develops and resolves her character in the very first scene of the story. At the end of her initial interaction with Gabriel, we know why she is ‘dead’; she lost her faith in men. This then sets up a slightly more complex “living dead” character, Aunt Julia. At the point that Aunt Julia is introduced, Mrs Conroy is also introduced but the author does not develop her character yet, preferring to let Aunt Julia’s character develop and resolve as a forerunner to Mrs Conroy’s character. At the halfway point (see ‘Aunt Julia’s song’ in the Appendix), Aunt Julia’s character is resolved. We know that she is ‘dead’ because she lost her faith in the Church. Then comes the end when Mrs Conroy’s character is fully developed and resolved in a fitting climax to the main theme and the story as a whole.
The author fills the story with keen observations on human behavior and interaction. There are many points of awkwardness in the story which happens in any social situation and is simply a delight to read about.
The line that haunts me is this one: “He did not like to say even to himself that her face was no longer beautiful but he knew that it was no longer the face for which Michael Furey had braved death.”
APPENDIX
Chronology of events and its effect on Gabriel’s reaction in the denouement
- Gabriel’s initial interaction with Lily
The result of this interaction was that ‘he was discomposed by the girl’s bitter and sudden retort. It had cast a gloom over him which he tried to dispel by arranging his cuffs and the bows of his tie.’ At this point, the author is setting up the mood reversal that will come at the end of his speech by starting Gabriel off in a dark mood. This mood will reach its nadir during his interaction with Miss Ivors. This episode introduces (unbeknownst to a first time reader) the main theme of the story, that of the “living dead”, those who are alive and go through the motions of living but who are essentially dead to the world. We know this is true of Lily from her bitter response to Gabriel and also in the next scene when Aunt Kate remarks that she did not ‘know what has come over her lately’ and ‘she’s not the girl she was at all’. The author also takes the opportunity in this interaction to show us Gabriel’s generous (sincere if somewhat shallow) character which will be further developed in the story. This episode also introduces a sub-theme: class distinctions between the highly-educated and the common folk. At the end of the encounter, we find Gabriel obsessing over his speech. From the narrative we know that he is concerned about coming across as a highly-educated snob. He is extremely conscious of the class difference that separated him from the rest of the crowd.
- Discussion in the hallway between Gabriel, Mrs Conroy, Aunt Julia and Aunt Kate.
In this scene, the author further develops Gabriel’s ‘niceness’. We discover that Gabriel is a caring if overly solicitous fellow. Aunt Julia is introduced and her character established as the second “living dead”. She is described as a passive woman who ‘did not know where she was or where she was going’. Aunt Kate is introduced as the dominant contrast to Aunt Julia to further accentuate the “living dead”. Mrs Conroy is introduced but interestingly, even though she is the archetypal “living dead” character, the author does not develop her character here or very much at all throughout the story until the very end.
- Scene in the back room
Mr Browne is introduced and his character established. He is described as a flamboyant, ladies’ man. His role in the story will be to play the part of the dominant “living” character to contrast with the “living dead.” Bartell D’Arcy who will play his part much later on in the story is also introduced. Freddy Marlins, the town drunk is introduced. His role, like Mr Browne, is to play the part of the dominant “living” character and specifically will be used in the story as a contrast to his “living dead” partner, Mrs Marlins, his mother.
- Scene in the drawing room
The author uses this scene to inform us about Gabriel’s family background. This is a further development of the class distinction sub-theme as we find out how Gabriel came to be so highly educated. The author also very briefly develops Mrs Conroy’s character; we know that she is not very educated and she is a caring person.
- Gabriel’s interaction with Miss Ivors
At this point, the author builds the class sub-theme up to a climax. The author also uses this opportunity to reveal much of Gabriel’s character to us. We know that Gabriel is somewhat ashamed of his own culture, Irish culture (O, to tell you the truth, I’m sick of my own country, sick of it!) The author uses the class sub-theme to bring Gabriel to the nadir of his emotional state. By the end of his encounter with Miss Ivors, he is completely agitated, off-balanced and defensive. There is further development of the main plot line. We find out that Mrs Conroy has a strong attachment to Galway. This point will recur in the climax of the story (Perhaps that was why you wanted to go to Galway with that Ivors girl?)
- Before supper
There is more obsessing by Gabriel over his speech. The author does a good job of setting up the speech which I find to be one of the most moving passages in the story. The author exposes the shallowness of Gabriel’s ‘niceness’ by giving us a full glimpse of what he really thinks of his aunts (What did he care that his aunts were only two ignorant old women?) One of the results of Gabriel’s interaction with Miss Ivors is that he is at this point, very self-conscious about his class status and desperately wants to be accepted among his countrymen. This is reflected in what he plans to say in this speech.
- Aunt Julia’s song
Aunt Julia’s character is completely revealed. We understand what caused her ‘death’: she was betrayed by the Church.
- Miss Ivors’ sudden and unexpected departure
Her leaving enabled Gabriel to nail his speech and gave him that emotional reversal which in turn set up his reaction at the climax and denouement of the story (It shot through Gabriel’s mind that Miss Ivors was not there and that she had gone away discourteously: and he said with confidence in himself).
- Supper
This is one of the events mentioned in the denouement as the cause of the ‘riot of emotions’ that set Gabriel up for the final scene.
- Speech
This is also one of the events mentioned in the denouement as the cause of the ‘riot of emotions’. The author uses the speech as a resolution of the class sub-theme. At the same time, he uses the speech as a means to delivering that emotional reversal that put Gabriel in a state of ecstasy.
- Goodbyes
This is another one of the events mentioned in the denouement as the cause of the ‘riot of emotions’. This is the beginning of the finale, when the first wave of lust towards his wife hits Gabriel as Mrs Conroy hears Bartell D’Arcy sing The Lass of Aughrim, stirring up the memory of her first and only true love.
- Walk along the river
Again, this is one of the events mentioned in the denouement as the cause of the ‘riot of emotions’.
- Climax and denouement
Here the author finally allows the character of Mrs Conroy to bloom and we get the climax and resolution of the “living dead” theme. She was ‘dead’ because she lost the first and only true love she ever had. It is also here that Gabriel gets his comeuppance for his well-disguised snobbishness at his superior status as a highly-educated man.
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