Dubliners was first published in 1914 and consist of 15 short stories by James Joyce. The stories are a depiction of the lifestyle and culture of the early 20th century in Dublin and focus mainly on the Irish culture. The stories have many underlying themes and learning experiences for the reader, since Joyce paints a vivid picture in the stories through the narrators used in a majority of the stories. While reading the stories gender is a determinant in the experiences and interactions between men and women in the society. This paper looks at the different occasions using evidence from stories and gender as used by the writer to develop the identity of characters in the stories. The female and male characters in the story provide a platform to assess the gender question in the development of the characters. The writer uses differences in the actions and behavior of the male and female characters in the story to help in developing the identity of the character in the story. This has mainly been achieved through giving opposing behaviors and traits to help develop the identity of a character.

The women are depicted as intuitive with their assessment and understanding of different scenarios in the stories. Joy evidently depicts the women as being more intuitive than their male counterparts and the men are depicted as slow in understanding underlying factors in the stories. For instance taking the case of Mrs. Kearney in “A mother” she anticipates a failure in the concert well before the likes of Mr. Holohan and Mr. Fitzpatrick (Joyce, 2001). While the two men are optimistic and blind to the fact that the concert cannot be salvaged, Mrs. Kearney is infuriated as she labels the concert as a failure even after her male colleagues set up measures to ensure the success of the concert. The story puts the male members at loggerheads with Mrs. Kearney who is correct on her stance making her intuitive compared to her male colleagues. The nature of optimism and efforts made by the male colleagues even after Mrs. Kearney has labeled the concert a failure helps in developing her character as intuitive in the story

The women are also depicted as authoritarian while, at the same time, they are also humble and quiet in the company of the men. The writer aims to bring out the culture and trends in the early 20th century by showing that although the women were followers of what the men said there were others who were opinionated and hugely vocal in their experiences. The writer uses their difference in characters, in her stories to develop the different characters depending on the story. For example, Mrs. Kearney was a champion for truth and very authoritative in her opinions and commands (Joyce and Norris, 2006). She had very high standards and respected the people who showed commitment in their work. She saw the men as lacking the proper attitude and drive. The stern and determination in her character is developed through her the interactions with her male colleagues. The development of Kearney character as authoritative and stern is mainly based on the characters of her male colleagues which show how the well the writer use gender to develop the identity of the characters. In contrast the young boy’s aunt in “the sisters” is depicted as a humble and quiet lady. While the men are discussing issues about the death of Father Flynn the lady quietly takes food to and from the table. She also does not give her opinion on the discussion about Father Flynn and listens to the message given by old Cotter. It depicts the aunt as a humble and respectful thereby developing her character as a good wife. The citing of the work she does while the men are talking is further evidence of how well the writer brings out her character as a humble wife in the story. In an effort to make the Aunt a good wife the writer labels and depicts the men as very lazy and watch as, the Aunt does all the work.

The writer also reflects the women as light hearted and easily manipulated by the men. Women are given the quality of being soft and light hearted in the stories. In the story “Eveline” the lady fondly remembers her mother and the hardships she frequently strived through while living with her father. She also suffers from the same treatment and the only hope that she has of a better life is through her boyfriend whom she plans to elope. The writer paints the lady like very light hearted while developing her character. Although she wishes to leave with her boyfriend who is a sailor and go abroad she ends up being left as she withdraws at the last minute. The author developed her character and the sad story of her mother to give an ending to the sad story of a lady who could not chase her dreams. It is through the development of Eveline as a torn and pitiful lady that the author was able to achieve the ending to the story where she ended up falling short due to her decision making. In attempt to communicate with the readers, the writer slowly develops her character perfectly.

The men are depicted as ruthless and utterly irresponsible in their character. The characters of the men in the stories have been developed to reflect a sense of irresponsibility in their actions and attitudes. In the story “a mother” Mr. Holohan and Mr. Fitzpatrick are two very irresponsible individuals who do not perform according to the expectations. Using the character of Mrs. Kearney as a hardworking and stern enforcer of what is just is helps in developing the character of the two teachers as ignorant and irresponsible characters (Joyce and Norris, 2006). In the story “Eveline” the father is described as being abusive and highly authoritative by Eveline. In developing his character as a benevolent, irresponsible individual the writer uses Eveline who works two jobs to make ends meet in the family while her father does nothing. It is evident from the role played by Eveline in the story that the writer clearly aims at painting the father as irresponsible. The story “the sisters” also has evidence of the irresponsible behavior by the men whereby whereas the young boy’s aunt is busy doing the chores at home the men are only speaking about the dead Father Flynn. The character development of the two men is done through using the hardworking lady whom the writer uses to show a huge difference in the contributions between the two genders.

The care and sympathy showed between men and women also differ which is also an attribute used to develop the characters in the stories. In the first story, “ the sisters” the young man is said to have been waiting anxiously for the death of Father Flynn. The Uncle and Old Cotter also speak about the dead Father with no concern involved. It is different from the way the Aunt takes the news and allegations (Joyce and Norris, 2006). Whereas the men speak of the dead father in their usual talk, the aunt does not thereby developing a non-sympathetic nature of the men and the caring nature of the Aunt. Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Holahan also do not have any sense of care as depicted in the story. While Mrs. Kearney is hugely disappointed about the performance, the two are rather casual and show no form of care to the results. The difference in reactions between the Mr.Holahan and Mr. Fitzpatrick, and that of Mrs. Kearney aid in the development of the character of Mrs. Kearney as caring and that of her colleagues as unconcerned people.

Gender is one of the main attributes used by the writer to develop the characters in the stories so vividly thereby making the reader paint a vivid picture of the individuals in the stories. The use of gender in the stories that use the characters of the two genders in contrast thereby developing the characters is a good and powerful tool in writing stories and the Dubliners uses gender as a tool well. It the distinction in the behavior and attitudes between the male and the female characters in the story that develops the character traits of the characters and at the same time developing the themes intended in the stories.

References

Joyce, J. (2001). Dubliners. Salt Lake City: Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.

Joyce, J., & Norris, M. (2006). Dubliners: authoritative text, contexts, criticism. New York: W.W. Norton.

CLICK BUTTON TO ORDER NOW