I have a feeling that this won't be such a popular opinion, since it's not based on a real deep reading of the text, but while it's tempting to tie this in to some larger theme of life being entirely overwhelming, I really don't think Joyce intended for this line to mean much more than the literal words on the page.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet...
What does the opening of this story mean? I'm not trying to completely cop out of answering the question, but I don't think that the line "Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet" has much hidden meaning. One of the key words in the sentence is "literally," and I think we are to interpret the sentence literally as it is written. Lily is breathless and ragged from running up and down the stairs in order to set things up for the big event. I think that Joyce uses Lily merely to set the scene, and he employs this line to show a hectic beginning to the evening.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Emily, I actually had a really similar reaction. The rest of the paragraph describes Lily's endless work-just as she had finished taking the coat off of one of the guests, the doorbell rang again, and she had to "scamper along the bare hallway to let in another guest" (175). So, I took "run off her feet" to mean that she was literally being overworked. Even though I think we were supposed to find a deeper literary meaning, I definitely found more of a literal translation in the text.
ReplyDeletefirst of all props to emily for posting first, again.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all i do agree with Emily and Ari with the literal meaning of the phrase "Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet" and how it would signal the start of a hectic/enthusiastic night. I however would like to delve a bit beneath the surface level of this quote. For me this is a book about perceptions, and how they change throughout our age and journey of life. In this section we already know much about how important perception is, especially to Gabriel. Therefore i take this quote to mean how highly they regard each other and how important the night is. Therefore i feel that her excitement to answer the door and figure out who is there signifies this importance of her perceiving the person at the door and the overall affairs of the night, as emily said. Furthermore this quote seems somewhat out of place.. it seems far more childlike and more fitting for one of the first stories. But maybe that was Joyce's point, to remind the reader of the other sections mainly the childhood.
Hello to All!
ReplyDeleteEmily, I think it's very important that we pay close attention to the word, "literally." When Joyce preludes the description of Lily with this term, he's making a concession; he's showing us that he knows that the phrase, "run off her feet" is a cliché--it's a popular way to describe someone, meaning, it's a description or perception that would most probably be fabricated by any typical bystander who was observing her pre-festivities chores. On these grounds, namely, ones of others' perceptions of a person, we can relate this diction to vanity.
Moreover, we see her named in two different ways: "Lily," and "the caretaker's daughter." The former is obviously a name to which she would likely readily reply; the latter is a label that would most likely be used by an outsider who was talking about her. This would again suggest a notion of vanity.
The point here is that Lily is perceiving herself, or being described in a manner that concerns others' views of herself, rather than her own--something I'm hope might be substantiated in the rest of "The Dead." Otherwise it was a nice try...just like the snow comment in class.
At first I would completely have agreed with Emily, but on looking for that deeper literary meaning, I checked the criticism in the back of the book, (I hope that's okay?) and found that it is an idiom which would be characteristic of Lily. Therefore the opening sentence is told from her perspective/voice (not the narrator's) in language she would have used, even though it is a misuse of the word "literally." Lily was "figuratively" run off her feet, as Emily and Ari pointed out; worked to the bone and exhausted from running around. However this very specific use of language was another of Joyce's masterful little tricks. We see specifically with Gabriel the pretentious attitude held towards education and the emphasis placed on learnedness. Lily is described in this way to be a lowly (illiterate) hall maid, so overworked with answering the door and helping the men take their coats off that she would just collapse if she had to help the women as well. This image along with her misuse of language set the stage for her character and help Joyce set up his stress on educational differences between characters and classes.
ReplyDeleteI was also unsure of the meaning of the phrase "run off her feet," however, in addition to the other posts I would like to add one idea. This phrase might be related to the idea of paralysis we have seen throughout Dubliners. Had Lily "literally run off her feet," she would be unable to walk, and therefore paralyzed in a sense. Also, this phrase characterizes Lily as worn out and run-down (possibly approaching her death?).
ReplyDeleteSarah, I really like what you posted! I think you did a great job of connecting what the back of the book said to Lily's character. Because Lily represents the "lowly (illiterate) hall maid" as Sarah said, she is the complete opposite of Gabriel, who we see as a very well-learned and almost pretentious character. Therefore, starting "The Dead" with this politically incorrect usage of the word allows Joyce to immediately touch on a political commentary - and as we already know, this section is supposed to be about adulthood in the public life. I also really liked what Hannah said about the connection to paralysis and what has been said about vanity.
ReplyDeleteOn a completely different note, I don't know if this is really necessary, but when I was reading I noticed that Joyce used "run off" again; he says, "'Ever so much, I assure you, said Miss Ivors, but you really must let me run off now'" (195). Not sure if this has any big significance but I thought I might as well point it out.
I agree with what everyone's said so far, especially Hannah's comment on paralysis. I thought that "literally run off her feet" could imply that she had some physical deformity in her feet, or maybe calluses. However, Im not so sure if that is true because Joyce goes on to say that she had to "scamper", which makes me think that she is able to run back and forth quickly. I think that it is also ironic that she is the caretakers daughter, but "literally run off her feet" gives me the impression that she has not taken the best care of herself. One other thought is that the phrase could imply that Lily's physical state can not keep up with her mental state. Run off her feet gives me the sense that she mentally wants to engage in the act of running, but her feet or physical body is holding her back.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm inclined to agree that there isn't much literary meaning behind the first sentence beyond giving a description of her and a notion to how other people perceive her. For the sake of it though, I like Austin's point about her two identifiers. She's immediately established as "Lily", someone with her own identity, but this is then modified. She is "the caretaker's daughter", suggesting that her identity depends upon somebody else, her father. Following a pattern, the next part of the sentence makes up part of her identity as well, as Lily is always perceived as somebody tired, etc. I like the notion of paralysis too. "Run of her feet", Lily is unable to walk. She can't progress in life and is stuck in a unfulfilling life.
ReplyDeleteI think you all make excellent points.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm going to throw out a different interpretation of words "run" and "off her feet." Perhaps run means run like a machine, in the sense that it is operating?
And maybe "off her feet means she is operated by her feet?" So this would imply that she is like a machine, just like everyone else in this chapter/short story. Kate and Julia are like machines because their lives are so monotonously routine. Gabriel, no matter how pompous, is consistently pretentious, and routinely reads classics and essentially anything that would make him seem smarter. And that dance routinely happens every year around Christmastime. And the twelve days of Christmas, the setting, are also really routine.
So maybe JOyce is making an analogy to the routine of everyone's life. If anything is consistent for everyone, it is death, as the title implies. So I think overall, he may be trying to say that no matter how different people's lives are, they all follow some sort of personal routine, which includes the ultimate routine activity of the human experience: death.
Sarah, I thought your post was really insightful. I originally shared the same thoughts as Emily, but changed my mind after reading your post. I agree with you that the misuse of “literally” in the first sentence is Joyce’s way of making commentary on education. Lily’s incorrect word choice contrasts with Gabriel’s pompous attitude later on when he questions including Browning’s poems. Through this, Joyce makes commentary on the differences in levels of education.
ReplyDeleteI also think its important how Joyce chooses to start the story with Lily’s voice and perspective. Like Russell said, the sentence seems childlike, like it belongs in another section or story. I’m not entirely sure why though.
I agree with Sarah. I think, since this part of the book is about public life, it is apt that Joyce makes salient political commentary in this book (as he did in The Sisters, about the paralysis of the Catholic Church and of Ireland itself) about the class. Perhaps, if Lily represents the lower classes, as Sarah sagely pointed out, then Lily being "run off her feet" refers to the lower classes being overpowered and marginalized by the wealthy - or even the Irish Nations (Home Rule) and those who wanted to be ruled by Britain. Perhaps their efforts are being overtaken by pompous people (Gabriel) - therefore being "run off their feet."
ReplyDeletehmm...i sort of like the whole ironic aspect of literally being misused to illustrate Lilly's character. I also disagree that the "run off her feet" would point to paralysis. I think it is more a reference to all the running she was doing/had to do. Even if she was exhausted she had been forced to move.
ReplyDeleteLily as the first word is significant. Lily is, of course, an Easter flower representing resurrection/rebirth. Lily of the West is also a well known Irish trad song.
ReplyDeleteThe caretakers daughter reminds me of a child of God in their midst.
"Literally run off her feet" (aside from meaning harried overworked,and exhausted) feels to me like an otherworldly, spiritual,ethereal state in a way. Suspended in air. Maybe between the living and the dead.