Annotations: Dubliners

James Joyce

Annotations: Dubliners

03APR1998

The Sisters

In the story The Sisters James Joyce with characteristic subtlety gives the reader the keys to his literary puzzle early on. Three words are strung together in 'young Stephen's' mind while looking on the dark window of his former tutor. The first, paralysis describes both the physical and spiritual character of the old priest; entwined as they are one in the other. We discover as the story reaches it's finality that the first, the action of dropping the chalice, informs the later, inducing a spiritual/mental seizure. Another aspect of this concept is the place that 'young Stephen' finds himself in, driven by his pious mother's desire to aid the old priest in his snuff habit, and his initial fear of the slobbering old madman.
The Greek term gnomon, which translates as 'one who knows' relates to 'young Stephen's' position in the unfolding story, being the one who, as Sarah pointed out, while not knowing the details of the old priest's malady, is the only character who knows the inner turmoil and personality of this spiritual cripple, as the description "wide-awake and laughing" suggests. In 'the Euclid', a gnomon is the part of the parallelogram which remains after a similar parallelogram has been taken away from its corner. This as well speaks to the constancy of the protagonist's position amid the duplicity of the adults around him. An excellent example of this is 'young Stephen's' ability to see the old priest's face as 'truculent' or fierce and cruel, while everyone else is taken by his peace and resignation in death.
Simony has a less obvious, yet more specific use in the description of the old priest. Joyce leaves out the information which would suggest the less then wholesome relationship between 'young Stephen' and the old priest; who offers up sacred information for the profane purposes of ensnaring the young acolyte. The key to this is in the 'grave secrecy of the confessional' and the attempt by the old priest's ghost to confess to 'young Stephen'; marking him in apostolic succession as the spiritual successor of the broken old priest.

The Encounter

In The Encounter there is a continuation of the religious motif Joyce seems to be constantly hovering about like a hawk and its prey. The most important aspect of the 'Tom Sawyer' adventure of 'young Stephen' and Mahony is the encounter with the "queer old josser"; as the notes to Portrait (230:17) show, this term is pidgin English for God. God comes to Adam three times in "Genesis"; in the first he creates him, in the second he creates for him a mate, and in the third he chastises him for his indiscretion in eating of the Tree of Knowledge, and lying at the behest of the woman. In the same way the "queer old josser" encounters the boys three times; on the first he merely passes by envisioning them (a form of creation), on the second he asks them about their relations with young girls, returning a third time he chastises 'young Stephen' for his relations with young girls and suggests punishment for this interaction, specifically if it involves lying about the same to him.

Araby

Araby suggests a Dublin attempting to put on grander, more continental airs in the hopes of raising the impoverished Dubliners to a more prosperous status. A shallow and materialistic aim, which has 'young Stephen' walking among the stalls like a passive Jesus, disgusted with the moneychangers in his father's house; and doubly disgusted with himself for taking part in the charade; unlike J.C.. The most ironic twist to this story though is seen in the imagery of the chalice. Instead of the blood of sacrifice which is the usual content of this vessel, 'young Stephen' carries in his grail, the waters of love; a twisting of death into life, and sacrifice into love. This same emotion towards E. C. will later consume 'Stephen', like Yeats and Maude Gonne, embittering him and driving him from his home/heart land.