Relationships with Community, Family and Between Male and Female Are a Constant Source of Inspiration for Irish Writers. Discuss with Reference to Examples from Three Genres.
Relationships with community, family and between male and female are a constant source of inspiration for Irish writers. Discuss with reference to examples from three genres.
In Dubliners, James Joyce portrays relationships in the nineteenth century to be unequal. Women live in servitude to their men folk, and are portrayed as the weaker sex whereas children are hardly seen or heard. The position of women and children under masculine dominance in Joyce’s stories runs in parallel to the political position of Ireland as the conquered neighbour of imperial England. Consequently, just as the native language of Ireland was hushed, the voices of his women and children are muted too, and simultaneously their actions are subject to their male superiors’ dictations. Society in nineteenth century Ireland condemns single women to loneliness and isolation. We see this with Eveline, who believes she will only be respected when she is married, and Mrs Sinico who is depressed, trapped in a loveless marriage. In some of the other pieces I have read, this same failure of relationships is clear as there seems to be a barrier that prevents many Irish from establishing good relationship.
In “Eveline” Joyce portrays the nineteen year old Eveline as lonely and oppressed. Eveline’s relationship with her father is dysfunctional. He is abusive towards her and threatens to go for her.
“She sometimes felt in danger of her father’s violence, she knew it was that that had given her the palpitations.”
Eveline can only remember two occasions when her father was kind to her. They have no communication, Joyce shows this when Eveline still does not know the name of the Priest in the picture on her living room wall after all these years. Her father is portrayed as a possessive and jealous man. This is shown by him forbidding Eveline from seeing Frank. James Joyce uses symbols for their relationship such as “dusty” throughout the story to emphasise the feeling that it is a broken down
In Dubliners, James Joyce portrays relationships in the nineteenth century to be unequal. Women live in servitude to their men folk, and are portrayed as the weaker sex whereas children are hardly seen or heard. The position of women and children under masculine dominance in Joyce’s stories runs in parallel to the political position of Ireland as the conquered neighbour of imperial England. Consequently, just as the native language of Ireland was hushed, the voices of his women and children are muted too, and simultaneously their actions are subject to their male superiors’ dictations. Society in nineteenth century Ireland condemns single women to loneliness and isolation. We see this with Eveline, who believes she will only be respected when she is married, and Mrs Sinico who is depressed, trapped in a loveless marriage. In some of the other pieces I have read, this same failure of relationships is clear as there seems to be a barrier that prevents many Irish from establishing good relationship.
In “Eveline” Joyce portrays the nineteen year old Eveline as lonely and oppressed. Eveline’s relationship with her father is dysfunctional. He is abusive towards her and threatens to go for her.
“She sometimes felt in danger of her father’s violence, she knew it was that that had given her the palpitations.”
Eveline can only remember two occasions when her father was kind to her. They have no communication, Joyce shows this when Eveline still does not know the name of the Priest in the picture on her living room wall after all these years. Her father is portrayed as a possessive and jealous man. This is shown by him forbidding Eveline from seeing Frank. James Joyce uses symbols for their relationship such as “dusty” throughout the story to emphasise the feeling that it is a broken down