The Dubliners

Short Stories Summary

A boy grapples with the death of a priest, Father Flynn. With his aunt, the boy views the corpse and visits with the priest's mourning sisters. As the boy listens, the sisters explain Father Flynn's death to the aunt and share thoughts about Father Flynn's increasingly strange behavior.

"An Encounter" Fed up with the restraints of school and inspired by adventure stories, two boys skip their classes to explore Dublin. After walking around the city for a while, the unnamed narrator and his friend, Mahony, eventually rest in a field. A strange old man approaches and talks to them, and his sexual innuendos make the narrator uncomfortable. Ultimately, the narrator and Mahony manage to escape.

"Araby" A young boy falls in love with his neighbor Mangan's sister. He spends his time watching her from his house or thinking about her. He and the girl finally talk, and she suggests that he visit a bazaar called Araby, which she cannot attend. The boy plans to

goes to a pub. Lenehan eventually meets up with Corley and learns that the plan was successful, but Corley only gave the girl a small amount of money. Lenehan is disappointed and realizes that Corley is not as generous as he pretends to be.“The Boarding House”Mrs. Mooney runs a boarding house and discovers that one of her tenants, Mr. Doran, has been having an affair with her daughter, Polly. Mrs. Mooney confronts Mr. Doran and forces him to marry Polly. Despite his initial reluctance, Mr. Doran agrees to the marriage, realizing that it is his only way out of the situation.“A Little Cloud”Little Chandler, a married man with a young child, meets his old friend, Ignatius Gallaher, who has become a successful journalist. Little Chandler feels envious of Ignatius' exciting life and regrets his own unfulfilled ambitions. After their meeting, Little Chandler returns home feeling trapped and dissatisfied with his life.“Counterparts”Farrington, a clerk in a law firm, spends his day at work feeling frustrated and resentful. He takes out his anger on his son and later goes to a pub to drown his sorrows. Farrington gets into a fight with a man at the pub and is humiliated when he loses. He returns home defeated and continues to take out his anger on his son.“Clay”Maria, a middle-aged woman who works as a maid, attends a Halloween party at the home of her former employers. She receives a gift of clay, which reminds her of her own mortality. Maria reflects on her life and the choices she has made, feeling a sense of resignation and acceptance of her fate.

eats a cheap meal. Later in the night Lenehan goes to the residence as planned and sees the girl retrieve something from the house for Corley. Finally Corley reveals to Lenehan that she procured a gold coin for him.

"The Boarding House"

In the boarding house that she runs, Mrs. Mooney observes the courtship between her daughter, Polly, and a tenant, Mr. Doran. Mrs. Mooney intercedes only when she knows Mr. Doran must propose to Polly, and she schedules a meeting with Mr. Doran to discuss his intentions. Mr. Doran anxiously anticipates the conversation and the potential lifestyle change that awaits him. He resolves that he must marry Polly.

"A Little Cloud"

One evening after work Little Chandler reunites with his old friend, Gallaher. Little Chandler aspires to be a poet, and hearing about Gallaher's career in London makes Little Chandler envious and determined to change his life. Little Chandler imagines freedom from his wife and child, but he feels ashamed about his

thoughts and accepts his situation.“Counterparts”After an infuriating day at work, Farrington embarks on an evening of drinking with hisfriends. Even though Farrington pawns his watch to replenish his empty wallet, he findshimself spending all of his money on drinks for himself and his companions. Growing moreand more frustrated, Farrington almost explodes when he loses an arm-wrestling match. Athome later that night, Farrington vents his anger by beating his son.

“Clay”On Halloween night, Maria oversees festivities at the charity where she works. Afterward, shetravels to the home of Joe Donnelly, whom she nursed when he was a boy. Along the wayMaria purchases sweets and cakes for Joe’s family. When she arrives at the house, she realizesshe has somehow lost the special plum cake she’d bought. After talking, eating, and playingHalloween games, Maria sings a song for the Donnellys.

“A Painful Case”Mr. Duffy develops a relationship with Mrs.

Sinico at a concert in Dublin. The two meet often for long chats and become close, but Mr. Duffy cuts off the relationship when Mrs. Sinico makes the intimate but chaste gesture of taking Mr. Duffy's hand and putting it against her cheek. Four years later, Mr. Duffy reads in a newspaper that Mrs. Sinico has died in a train accident. He feels angry, sad, and uneasy as he remembers her, and he finally realizes he lost perhaps his only chance for love.

"Ivy Day in the Committee Room" A group of men working as street promoters for a mayoral candidate meet to discuss their jobs and escape from the rainy weather on Ivy Day, which commemorates the death of Charles Stuart Parnell, the influential Irish politician. The men complain about their late paychecks and debate politics. Conversation eventually turns to Parnell and his political endeavors, and one of the men, Hynes, recites a poem he wrote in memory of him.

"A Mother" An Irish cultural society organizes a concert

series with the help of Mrs. Kearney, the mother of one of the performers. Mrs. Kearney secures a contract with the society's secretary, Mr. Holohan, so that her daughter is ensured payment for her piano accompaniment. A series of logistical changes and failed expectations infuriate Mrs. Kearney, and she hounds the officers of the society for the money, making a spectacle of herself and her daughter.

"Grace"

After an embarrassing public accident, Tom Kernan is convinced by his friends to attend a Catholic retreat. The men hope that this event will help Mr. Kernan reform his problematic, alcoholic lifestyle. At the service, the presiding priest preaches about the need for the admission of sins and the ability of all people to attain forgiveness through God's grace.

"The Dead"

With his wife, Gretta, Gabriel Conroy attends the annual dancing party hosted by his two aging aunts, Julia and Kate Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane. At the party, Gabriel

experiences some uncomfortable confrontations. He makes a personal comment to Lily, the housemaid, that provokes a sharp reply, and during a dance he endures the taunts of his partner, Miss Ivors. Finally, Gabriel sees Gretta enraptured by a song sung toward the end of the party. Later, he learns that she was thinking of a former lover who had died for her. He sadly contemplates his life.

Analysis of Major Characters

Gabriel Conroy, "The Dead"

Gabriel is the last protagonist of Dubliners, and he embodies many of the traits introduced and explored in characters from earlier stories, including short temper, acute class consciousness, social awkwardness, and frustrated love. Gabriel has many faces. To his aging aunts, he is a loving family man, bringing his cheerful presence to the party and performing typically masculine duties such as carving the goose. With other female characters, such as Miss Ivors, Lily the housemaid, and his wife, Gretta, he is less able to forge a connection, and

His attempts often become awkward, and even offensive. With Miss Ivors, he stumbles defensively through a conversation about his plans to go on a cycling tour, and he offends Lily when he teases her about having a boyfriend. Gretta inspires fondness and tenderness in him, but he primarily feels mastery over her. Such qualities do not make Gabriel sympathetic, but rather make him an example of a man whose inner life struggles to keep pace with and adjust to the world around him. The Morkans' party exposes Gabriel as a social performer. He carefully reviews his thoughts and words, and he flounders in situations where he cannot predict another person's feelings. Gabriel's unease with unbridled feeling is palpable, but he must face his discomfort throughout the story. He illustrates the tense intersection of social isolation and personal confrontation. Gabriel has one moment of spontaneous, honest speech, rare in "The Dead" as well as in Dubliners as a whole. When he

Dances with Miss Ivors, she interrogates him about his plans to travel in countries other than Ireland and asks him why he won't stay in Ireland and learn more about his own country. Instead of replying with niceties, Gabriel responds, "I'm sick of my own country, sick of it!" He is the sole character in Dubliners to voice his unhappiness with life in Ireland. While each story implicitly or explicitly connects the characters' hardships to Dublin, Gabriel pronounces his sentiment clearly and without remorse. This purgative exclamation highlights the symbolism of Gabriel's name, which he shares with the angel who informed Mary that she would be the mother of Christ in biblical history. Gabriel delivers his own message not only to Miss Ivors but also to himself and to the readers of "The Dead." He is the unusual character in Dubliners who dwells on his own revelation without suppressing or rejecting it, and who can place himself in a greater perspective.

In the final scene of the story, when he intensely contemplates the meaning of his life, Gabriel has a vision not only of his own tedious life but of his role as a human.

Eveline, "Eveline"

Torn between two extreme options—unhappy domesticity or a dramatic escape to Argentina for marriage—Eveline has no possibility of a moderately content life. Her dilemma does not illustrate indecisiveness but rather the lack of options for someone in her position. On the docks, when she must make a choice once and for all, Eveline remembers her promise to her mother to keep the family together. So close to escape, Eveline revises her view of her life at home, remembering the small kindnesses: her father's caring for her when she was sick, a family picnic before her mother died. These memories overshadow the reality of her abusive father and deadening job, and her sudden certainty comes as an epiphany—she must remain with what is familiar. When faced with the clear choice

between happiness and unhappiness, Eveline chooses unhappiness, which frightens her less than her intense emotions for Frank. Eveline’s nagging sense of family duty stems from her fear of love and an unknown life abroad, and her decision to stay in Dublin renders her as just another figure in the crowd of Dubliners watching lovers and friends depart the city. Eveline holds an important place in the overall narrative of Dubliners. Her story is the first in the collection that uses third-person narration, the first in the collection to focus on a female protagonist, and the only one in the collection that takes a character’s name as the title. Eveline is also the first central adult character. For all of these reasons, she marks a crucial transition in the collection: Eveline in many ways is just another Dubliner, but she also broadens the perspective of Dubliners. Her story, rather than being limited by the first-person narration of earlier stories, suggests something about the

Hardships and limitations of women in early twentieth-century Dublin