“The Dead” by James Joyce is set in early 20th century Ireland during the Christmas season and, very importantly, at Epiphany. A venerable portrait is drawn for the reader, who sees the aunt’s home, Michael Furey and his grave clearly (perhaps even more clearly than Gabriel can be seen), and, maybe most importantly, the snow on the ground. At this point in history, there is obvious oppression of Ireland by England – an oppression that carries over to the characters in the story.
Characterization is central to not only the plot, but also the theme of “The Dead.” Gabriel Conroy is a Dubliner, but sees himself as a bit “better” than the rest of those attending the party. Gabriel sees himself as socially and intellectually elevated in comparison to the “country folk” with whom he socializes (and is, in fact, married to). When Gabriel is at the party, he has a “broad, well-filled shirt,” alluding to the fact that he is a “stuffed shirt” himself (2265). He disdainfully looks down on his fellow party-goers, seeing the lot of them as a cultural wasteland. When pondering the selection to read to the party revelers, he fears that, ” [the] lines from Robert Browning…would be above the heads of his hearers” (2242). He thinks of his aunts as “two ignorant old women,” and there is even a touch of disdain present for his wife, Gretta, at the thought of her Irish colloquialisms and peasant roots. Gabriel, in essence, is ashamed of his heritage and tries to deny it. At the party, he strictly avoids the language and expressions so commonly used; he tries to attain a higher level of syntax, so that he can impress (and possible inspire) his audience. Gabriel is more comfortable with things from the East. English culture and vacations on “The Continent” are the pinnacle of success for this man, and he shows a haughty attitude toward those things from the West; country language, country people, and his wife. This intellectual and social snobbery pervades all he does, and builds an emotional wall between him and Gretta that precludes him ever knowing who she truly is.
In contrast, Michael Furey, though dead, is more alive than Gabriel. Michael, unlike Gabriel, had a true and undying love for Gretta and did (at least in her mind) die for her. As evidenced by his last name, Michael Furey is a passionate man, one willing to catch his death in the rain for a woman he loves. He is, in essence, everything Gabriel is not and would have no desire to be before his own realization of that fact. Biblically, Michael refers to the “Angel of Death.” In this instance, however, Michael gives death a positive connotation. Everything touching Michael, including the snow that covers his grave, is lovely and beautiful. Michael was able, in contrast to Gabriel, to give Gretta the passionate, self-sacrificing love that Gabriel never could. It is through Michael that Gabriel, alive but spiritually and emotionally dead, has his epiphany. Michael, the Archangel, is associated with the Day of Judgment and brings Gabriel to his. It is through Michael that Gabriel is able to cast aside his own inflated self-absorption to become a man willing to face the truth and the sobering reality of his own country, his own wife, and himself. He realizes that that Michael, even in his death, is more alive than Gabriel himself has ever been.
For all of Gabriel’s pomp and circumstance, especially in his use of language, he has utterly failed to communicate with his wife. What he thought was the pinnacle of intellect and culture, his gift of words, has failed him horribly. This insight takes clear and alarming shape when he looks into the mirror and sees, “a ludicrous figure, acting as a pennyboy for his aunts, a nervous well-meaning sentimentalist, orating to vulgarians and idealizing his own clownish lusts, the pitiable fatuous fellow he had caught a glimpse of in the mirror” (2266). Gabriel realizes, with utter clarity, that he has been so wrapped up in elevating his social status and spreading his intellectual wisdom that he has no idea who his wife is, what she feels, what she thinks and what she wants from life. This realization also brings truth about himself; he is not who he thought he was. He is a pathetic human being, more dead than alive.
The entire story is a poignant and heartbreaking demonstration of the conflict between Modernism and Victorianism. Gabriel Conroy has been the penultimate victim of the Victorian school of thought, in which elevated social status and intellectual snobbery and disdain are the goals to be attained and the means by which anything of value can be accomplished. By ascribing to Victorian philosophy, he has become a member of the living dead, with no meaningful connection to anyone in his life.
Sources
Abrams, M.H, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th edition. New York:W.H. Norton & Company, 2000.
