DUBLINERS

By JAMES JOYCE

James Joyce is one of the best known novelist, short story writer and poet of the whole Ireland. He was born the 1882 in Rathgar, Dublin, and died in the 1941. He was educated at a Jesuit school and at the University College in Dublin. In 1902 he went to Paris in order to escape the narrow-mindedness of Irish Catholicism. There he settled down. He returned to Dublin only twice. He lived many years in poverty, suffering for a severe eye trouble, which led in the later life to near blindness. Finally his genius was find thanks to the publication of his masterpiece, Ulysses.

Joyce wrote "Dubliners" when he was just 25 years old. It was published in 1914. It is a miscellaneous collection of scenes drawn from Dublin life. It deals with a sequence of episodes depicting the Catholic poor and middle-class.

Joyce disappointment with his fellow citizens emerges in many of his short stories. He describes the Dubliners as very indifferent and closed-minded people. For instance in the most famous story, "The dead", a Christmas meeting of friends and neighbours is depicted as a superficial social scene, but disturbed with underlying tensions and sense of despair. Moreover in "A painful case" the protagonist, a middle-aged man, is described as a very apathic and insensible person. He can't admit that he lives alone, so he is proud of his alienation from he other men. He refuses and sends away the genuine love given him by a married lady. This separation led her to four years of depression and eventually to suicide. Only after knowing of this "painful case" from the newspapers the protagonist realises how empty is his life and regrets her disappearance.

The whole book is compounded by 15 short stories dealing with different topics. From the narration of the first love ("Araby") to the one of the first time the death takes one of your friends ("The sisters"). From the decision to ignore an occasion to change your life into a better one ("Eveline") to the regret of that loss ("A little cloud"). From the role of a mother in the growth of her daughter ("The boarding house" and "A mother") to the description of a simple but happy way to spend a day with the family ("Clay").

All the stories are set in Dublin or in the Irish countryside of the latest years of the 19th century. The narration change through all the stories. In "The sister", "An encounter" and "Araby" the narrator is first person internal. In all the other stories is a third external narrator.The characters change from story to story. All belong to the Catholic poor or middle-class. They are young men, girls in age of marriage, mothers, workers in offices and owners of little firms. They are very good drinkers; some of them are even violent. The point of view always belongs to the characters. The narrator isn't omniscient. So we don't know many details.The author uses all the narrative techniques in an equal way. Lots of description of the characters and of their setting can be found.

The language used is not very easy. It is old-fashioned and sometimes too complicate. Often you can lose yourself in the bends of a too difficult passage.The tone is often sad, obviously because not happy stories are told. Sometimes it is humorous and quite ironical. Some other times it's quite serene, but always disturbed by some unknown anguish or pains. I don't really know what is the real message Joyce wanted to convey with his "Dubliners". He said in a letter to his brother in the 1914: << When you remember that Dublin has been capital for thousands of years . it seem strange that no artist has given it to a word >>. So that "Dubliners" could be written to give a literal portray of the life and, over all, of the trouble easy to find in Dublin. Moreover I think that Joyce thought this book as a sort of polemic to the closed-minded way of living of his fellow-citizens.

I appreciate this book because it deals with a historical reality. Reading a book like this one is a good and easy way to learn how poor and well-to-do people could live during the latest year of the 19th century.