'Dubliners'
By James Joyce

A resource created by Jo Cox

'Dubliners'

'Dubliners' is a consistent and methodical text, it is deliberately fashioned and is designed to be a collection. Each story works in relation to the others.

All the characters are linked and we can trace their development through the stories.

'Joyce set out to represent the paralysis of will which was besetting his home city of Dublin and all of its inhabitants, and he made this theme the focus of the stories in his collection.'

Humour, characterisation and dialogue are important features of these stories. They are a study in human behaviour. Joyce is exploring human lives and emotions, while utilising the short story form.

James Joyce

Joyce was born in 2nd February 1882 in Rathgar, a suburb of Dublin. Eldest of ten, he came from a poor family where his father lived beyond his means. His father was a huge influence on him. Joyce was brought up as a Roman Catholic.

In 1887 he moved to Bray and was looked after by Mrs Conway.

From 1889 to 1891 he attended Clongowes Wood College, a Jesuit school.

1892 the family was in financial difficulty and they moved back to Dublin. Father became a collector of rates in Dublin (tax collector). He did not support his family and lost his job. Joyce went to Belvedere College.

1898 he attended University College, Dublin. He wrote 'Dubliners' around 1905; it was printed much later.

In 1904 he fell in love with Nora Barnacle, controversially they had several children but didn't choose to marry until 1931. He died in 1941-aged sixty-nine.

Joyce is a controversial writer - 'Dubliners' is rejected several different times and even at the print. Publishers are particularly concerned about the sexual description in the novella.

Irish Nature of the text

History of Ireland

Ireland had been under British rule for hundreds of years. 1792 saw the Irish Potato Famine - thousands died and many fled to America

Most of Ireland was for many years owned by absentee landlords and farmed by peasant farmers.

The majority of the Irish were Catholic, although there was a large protestant community in the north. The protestants were imported into Ireland to quell catholic discontent. They had a higher social status and better access to jobs than the majority of the Irish.

Joyce rejected his faith, however it was still essentially part of him. The 'Movement for a return to Gaelic Culture' was around at the time.

Tradition of storytelling

Genre of short stories was popular in Ireland. Oral storytelling had a long history in Ireland. From the sociological point of view the short story is the voice of the 'submerged population group'.

This collection of stories is particularly unusual though because it deals with urban life, rather than rural.

Dublin

'Dubliners' brings to life the city of Dublin at the beginning of the 20th century. It is a mix of social realism and literary imagination. The stories are symbolic; they are full of dense literary and theological allusions.

Key questions