Both of these stories seemed to deal, at least on very basic levels, with sexuality. We see Maria (who has a name like [the virgin] Mary - a possible religious reference?) innocently avoiding intimacy, which is clear when she forgets what the back of the book calls "the more poignant second verse" of her song, one that discusses knightly suitors.
I also noticed that there was very little dialogue in this section. Not sure what that means though. Thoughts?
I liked A Painful Case a lot better. Mr Duffy is a really compelling character, which is evident from the first few pages, when he is described as having "an odd autobiographical habit" that leads him to narrate his life's events in third person. His relation to the theme of sexuality is shown when he goes on walks with (married!) Mrs. Sinico, but then ends his relationship (a word used loosely, I guess) with her after she touches his hand to her face. Once he reads about Mrs. Sinico's death, he begins to realize his role in it, and he feels bad that his rejection of her led her to become a drunk. I think that his own epiphany comes once he realizes that the woman is only a memory to him, and acknowledges that because of his self-imposed loneliness, he doesn't think he'll ever even be that, a memory, for anyone else.
These stories continue to be depressing accounts of real life in Dublin. The characters in them, however, are more mature, but this doesn't make them any less prone to feeling alone yet suffocated in Dublin.
sorry emily! you did a nice job though :)
ReplyDeletei agree that the majority if not all of these stories are mildly depressing. i also agree that a painful case is quite compelling, as is Mr. Duffy
the fact that mr duffy and mrs sinico go for walks makes it extremely sexual. in edith whartons house of mirth we learned that going for walks is the equivalent of having sex in literature. whether or not they're actually doing it, mr. duffy is concerned with mrs sinico's infidelity - which is why he eventually terminates their "relationship"
their unfaithfulness is definitely a sin, which idk if that somehow relates religiously
i think the epiphany is more when he reads the article - hence the title of the chapter. before he met mrs. sinico -- just realized her name starts with SIN!!! -- it says "he had neither companions nor friends, church nor creed." (109) this man is truly alone in the world (Sad) and the only time he knows any form of companionship or love is through mrs. sinico, and he throws that away. which in my opinion led her to commit suicide- symbolizing the death of love? suicide is also a major sin in Catholicism.
also before mrs. sinico, he has a very strict routine, it is cyclical, he does the same every day. she, however, switches it up and makes him open himself to someone else. in the end, however, he is alone (Again, the cycle.)this is strongly reminiscent of his paralysis, since he cannot/doesnt change. poor mr. duffy :(
why is dublin so suffocating?
I agree with emily, i think that as this book is progressing we are at a point where there is a lot more sexual actions/content being done by the main character (not that it is in first person. I Also liked a painful case much more than the other story, it think it is also very apt for the endish of our adolescent section. This is because it really includes how our actions affect others and not how we are affected by others actions (more of a focus from the first part of the book) like as emily said he realizes his role in her current state of being drunk and whatnot. As a whole the book seems to be getting more realistic, and darker at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI think that Maria definitely is named after the virgin Mary, especially because of the seemingly perfect, well-repsected life she has. However, Joyce once again goes against the church by showing Maria's paralysis through her ocd like personality in which she cares far too much on little things.
ReplyDeleteA Painful Case was really depressing to me. Mr. Duffy's loneliness emphasizes his paralyis, and I think that Emily is right that his epiphany occurs once the woman is only a memory.
The same themes are seen throughout Dubliners, which kind of reminds of 100 Yrs of solitude, where as time goes on and progresses, society stays the stagnant, and people fall back into the same roles.
Mr. Duffy is weak! haha
ReplyDeletebut what's actually very interesting about the characters so far is that even when they have epiphanies, they do nothing about it. They never really seek to realize a better life; rather most of the characters just have these epiphanies about how wrong they are living their lives and then simply accept it. This to me, is a really interesting philosophical point that James is introducing--one that deals with free will. His characters often lack volition; they affect deterministic or even fatalistic views of life before and after their apotheoses and seem to believe that life is stuck in its vicious cycle and cannot be changed. Life itself is paralyzed. And while physical paralysis does not inhibit mental contemplation and reflection, it does preclude physical growth towards realizing a better lifestyle.
I pretty much agree with everyone's posts so far. I think that the progression towards a focus on sexuality, sin, infidelity, etc are indicative of the progression into adulthood. I also agree that A Painful Case is a much more captivating story than Clay. A Painful Case seemed very human and realistic to me and, as always, very depressing. However, I disagree with Elizabeth's thought that the epiphany occurs when Mr. Duffy reads the article because at first he does not seem to have fully understood his feelings for Mrs. Sincio and their relationship. Instead, I believe that his epiphany comes when he reflects upon their relationship and his initial disgust subsides into a deep feeling of emptiness and sadness.
ReplyDeleteim not sure what the epiphany is in clay... maybe there is none? or does there have to be? i dont think maria realizes how boring her life is-or that she might as well be dead - symbolized by picking the clay. [thats harsh, but maybe the point of this ever present theme that is the need for evolution and change.
ReplyDeletein a painful case theres also little dialogue bc the epiphany is evoked by a different form instead - the newspaper article makes him recognize his solitude
I, too, liked A Painful Case a lot more than Clay. To be honest, I found Clay somewhat confusing when I first started reading the story.. I wasn't too sure what was going on until the second page or so. But, with A Painful Case I found I connected with the characters more easily - so much so that I was sad when I read the article about Mrs. Sinico's death.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what has been said thus far about the major themes in these two stories and the purpose of putting it in this section so I'm just going to elaborate on one issue..
Emily most definitely brings up a good point about the emphasis on sexuality in these two stories. For Clay: in addition to Maria's "mistake" about not saying the second verse that deals with courting and knights, Maria's uncomfortableness is obvious when she forgets the plumcake for mamma and papa on the tram: "Maria, remembering how confused the gentleman with the greyish moustache had made her, coloured with shame and vexation and disappointment (103-104). As for the sexuality addressed in A Painful Case: I really liked Elizabeth's connection to what walks symbolize (as the case with The House of Mirth); also, really nice job noticing that her name starts with SIN!
I really like that. Maria is reminiscent of Mary, and Santa Maria is a common name for the Virgin Mary. I think religion, which seemed to me to be absent and/or desecrated in the previous stories like "After the Race", is important in these stories. "Clay" takes place on a Sunday, Maria lives with Protestants, she chooses the prayer book, etc. I may be reading to much into it, but Joe first reminded me of Jesus with Mary his immaculate mother: "Mamma is mamma but Maria is my proper mother" (100). In any case, Maria seems to have died inside, so to speak, and is trapped in a meaningless, boring life. Her omission of the second verse of I dream I Dwelt is important - she doesn't sing the verse where she receives suitors, mirroring her boring life.
ReplyDeleteI think "A Painful Case" and Mr. Duffy are encapsulated really well in the first paragraph with Joyce's description of the house. The house is "an old sombre house", "uncarpeted" and "free from pictures". Mr. Duffy is clearly a very boring, prude, and unspontaneous man, a male version of Maria from "Clay". His relationship with Mrs. Sinico is the most adventurous thing in his life. But he is very timid with that relationship, and the relationship is fated to fail from the start. Mr. Duffy ends up alone, as he was in the beginning, paralyzed by his boring life.
sorry i didnt refresh so i didnt see everyones posts before i sent the second one --hannah i agree that he realizes it when he reflects, but i think its evoked by the article. just like in previous sections the epiphany has been evoked by dialogue.
ReplyDeleteand austin i think you make a really important point... theyre not mentally paralyzed - they see the errors in their ways, but still do nothing to change it. thats a pretty depressing view of humanity. maybe this is significant on a deeper level that we dont understand yet? i hope theres a silver lining in there somewhere
The hardest part about reading Dubliners in my opinion is reconciling the titles of the stories with what goes on. Clay, which is used to mold and shape, is in the pretense i believe an example of the decisions that people make as adults that shape who they are. Maria, who is a Mary figure (not desecrated) really is in the service of her family. She buys for them, and not for herself which is a change from the selfish nature of the childhood pieces. Also pragmatism exists as she is angered over losing the cake, which cost a great sum. Reading Clay, I got the idea that Maria was not as innocent as she appeared. Because she leaves out a verse in her song about marriage and shuns the ring in the cake, I feel as if she is in some secret relationship with Joe. He does really dote on her throughout the night.
ReplyDeleteI think A Painful Case was the best one and communicated excellently the mood of mundaneness - kind of like Malamud in the Assistant - and of paralysis. Perhaps Joyce is saying mundaneness and routine BECOME paralysis. Duffy is unadventurous, rarely straying from his set course of his day, and always follows societal rules. This leads to his loneliness and alienation, whereas the one time he did stray, and became friends with the married drunkard, he was able to find love, but he ends up rejecting out of fear. This paralyzing fear is a central theme, I think, in Dubliners.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I noticed from a few of the other stories in the adolescent section that we did not mention in class is that along with the removal of a sense of "I" from the speaker and the shift to third person narration, we now have the names of the main characters in each story, which changes their stories from being relatable and universal to specific and separate. This was definitely a more prominent feature of Joyce's narration for me last night. A Painful Case was a perfect exemplification of the mundane and paralysis. I agree with Demetra and that his continual refusal to stray from his daily routine is very rigid and unflexible. He is unwilling to bend his regular structure and what he believes to be right to go after passion and love. I also felt that maybe he was a little too self-centered and therefore unable to see the big picture outside of himself at first. I also agree with Clark that Duffy was very timid in steps towards a relationship and that this adds to the paralyzing fear that causes so many of Joyce's characters to be so rigid and unmoving.
ReplyDeleteOf the two stories, I definitely liked A Painful Case more. Even though I found Mr. Duffy's life to be pretty sad, I think it obviously fits into the running theme of paralysis in Dubliners. Mr. Duffy seems stuck in his everyday, boring, normal routine. In this way, he is paralyzed. However, Ms. Sinico seems to be an outlet for him. She is the one person he truly loves, but when she dies, he again falls back into this paralysis. Even though Duffy realizes that he should perhaps change his lifestyle to become more happy, he doesn't. Even his house seems completely desolate. On the first page of the story, it is stated that Mr. Duffy lived as far away from the city as possible. His house is described as bare and very simple. He is completely isolated and alone. He is stuck in the lonely life he has created for himself. it's actually pretty depressing.
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