Transcript How to Read The Dead - University of Washington

British Invasion of Ireland

The English conquest of Ireland began when a local ruler
asked King Henry II and his barons to help him regain his
kingdom. Some of the barons arrived first, in 1169, and
Henry followed in 1171. Henry encouraged his followers
to seize parts of the island and hold them as fiefs of the
crown. Henry's descendants intermarried with the local
population and increasingly adapted Irish customs.
However, the English did not control the island effectively,
and they regarded the Irish and the English-Irish as their
enemies. The authority of the English crown was
eventually restored over the entire island during the 16th
century by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, who also attempted
to suppress the Roman Catholic church.
7/21/2015
1
The Ending of The Dead: A Deadly Ending?
--The Law of the Shadow-

James Joyce’s famous long short story The Dead (1906-1907)
presents the painful metamorphosis Gabriel Conroy goes
through on Twelfth Night (the end of the Christmas holiday
season) once he found out that his wife Gretta had secretly
treasured a dead lover for many years .
To put it in a nutshell, the story weaves around Gabriel’s Three
Unpleasant Encounters: Lily as family servant girl with her
“back answers” to Gabriel’s two stereotyped questions; Molly as
his intellectual equal who challenged him during the dance; His
wife Gretta’s revelation—the most intimate relationship,
therefore most damaging—in the climatic order
7/21/2015
2
Joyce at 50


“Signatures of all
things, I am here to
read.” James Joyce,
Ulyless
To read means to
question, to
interpret, to make
inferences
7/21/2015
3
Lily




Easter Lily: resurrection
Associated with the Archangel Gabriel
Lily of the Valley or Madonna lily in
Renaissance art
The Virgin’s chaste purity at the
Annunciation
7/21/2015
4
Faux pas for False Step

A faux pas (pronounced /ˌfoʊˈpɑː/, plural:
faux pas /ˌfoʊˈpɑː(z)/) is a violation of
accepted social norms (for example, standard
customs or etiquette rules).[1] Faux pas vary
widely from culture to culture, and what is
considered good manners in one culture can
be considered a faux pas in another. The term
comes originally from French, and literally
means "false step".
7/21/2015
5

This expression is usually used in social and
diplomatic contexts. The term has been in
use in English for some time and is no longer
italicized when written. In French, it is
employed literally to describe a physical loss
of balance as well as figuratively, in which
case the meaning is roughly the same as in
English. Other familiar synonyms include
gaffe and bourde (bourde, unlike faux pas,
can designate any type of mistake).
7/21/2015
6
Lily’s Paralysis

One bad experience can’t stand for all;
7/21/2015
7
Gabriel



7/21/2015
Archangel is a term
meaning an angel of
high rank.
Gabriel is named an
archangel in the Holy
Bible's New Testament
book, Luke.
Gabriel, traditionally
named as an archangel,
delivering the
Annunciation. Painting
by Paolo de Matteis,
1712.
8
Michael

Michael is viewed as the field
commander of the Army of
God. He is mentioned by
name in the Book of Daniel
the Book of Jude and the
Book of Revelation. In the
book of Daniel, Michael
appears as "one of the chief
princes" who in Daniel's
vision comes to the
Archangel Gabriel's aid in his
contest with the angel of
Persia (Dobiel).
7/21/2015
9

Dobiel, also Dubbiel ("bear-god"), was the guardian angel of
Ancient Persia[1] [2]. According to the Talmud, Dobiel was also
one of the special accusers of Israel, and once officiated in
Heaven for 21 days as a proxy for Gabriel when the latter (over
whom Dobiel scored a victory) was in temporary disgrace for
taking pity on the Israelites when God was angry with them and
convincing the Babylonians to drive them from Babylon rather
than kill them. [3] After coming to power in Heaven, Dobiel set
about helping the Persian people at the expense of every other
nation. The legend states that all of the 70 or 72 tutelary or
guardian angels of nations (except Michael, protector of Israel)
became corrupted through national bias.
7/21/2015
10
The Feast of Epiphany
Epiphany (from Koine Greek
(ἡ) ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia "appearance",
"manifestation") is a Christian feast day
that celebrates the revelation of God in
human form in the person of Jesus
Christ. It falls on 6 January or, in many
countries, on the Sunday that falls
between 2 January and 8 January.

7/21/2015
11
River Liffey
The Liffey (An Life in Irish) is
a river in Ireland
7/21/2015
12
Puckers and Creases


7/21/2015
to gather or contract
(a soft surface such
as the skin of the
face) into wrinkles
or folds, or (of such
a surface) to be so
gathered or
contracted
2. a wrinkle, crease,
or irregular fold
13
What are you eating?
7/21/2015
14
Viand and Sweets
7/21/2015
15
The Judgment of Paris

The Judgment of Paris is a story from
Greek mythology, which was one of the
events that led up to the Trojan War
and (in slightly later versions of the
story) to the foundation of Rome.
7/21/2015
16
the Apple of Discord

It is recounted that Zeus held a banquet in
celebration of the marriage of ‘Peleus and
Thetis (parents of Achilles). However, Eris,
goddess of discord, was uninvited. Angered
by this snub, Eris arrived at the celebration,
where she threw a golden apple (the Apple of
Discord) into the proceedings, upon which
was the inscription καλλίστῃ ("for the fairest
one").
7/21/2015
17

Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera,
Athena and Aphrodite. They asked Zeus to
judge which of them was fairest, and
eventually Zeus, reluctant to favor any claim
himself, declared that Paris, a Phrygian
mortal, would judge their cases, for he had
recently shown his exemplary fairness in a
contest in which Ares in bull form had bested
Paris's own prize bull, and the shepherdprince had unhesitatingly awarded the prize
to the god.
7/21/2015
18
Paris’ Pick


Thus it happened that, with Hermes as their guide, all three
of the candidates appeared to Paris on Mount Ida, in the
climactic moment that is the crux of the tale. After bathing
in the spring of Ida, each attempted with her powers to
bribe Paris; Hera offered to make him king of Europe and
Asia, Athena offered wisdom and skill in war, and
Aphrodite offered the love of the world's most beautiful
woman. This was Helen of Sparta, wife of the Greek king
Menelaus.
Paris accepted Aphrodite's gift and awarded the apple to
her, receiving Helen as well as the enmity of the Greeks
and especially of Hera. The Greeks' expedition to retrieve
Helen from Paris in Troy is the mythological basis of the
Trojan War.
7/21/2015
19
Paris is fated to cause troubles

This son of Priam, King of Troy, and his
wife Hecuba had been exposed on a
mountainside as an infant because his
mother had a dream that he would be
the cause of the destruction of Troy.
7/21/2015
20
The Judgment of Paris
7/21/2015
21
Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore
Carmelo Francesco Bellini
(3 November 1801 – 23
September 1835) was an
Italian opera composer. His
most famous works are La
sonnambula (1831), Norma
(1831) and I puritani (1835).
Known for his long flowing
melodic lines for which he
was named "the Swan of
Catania,“ an Italian city.
7/21/2015
22
James Joyce vs. Homer



Though the most stable character in Dubliners, Gabriel sounds
somewhat suicidal to some readers when meditating on his
wife’s young lover’s early death:
“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory
of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age”
(Dubliners 224). This is the crux of the whole text.
The allusion/reference to “that other world” as the realm of
spirits recalls the scene in Homer’s Odyssey, where the
ghost of Achilles addresses Odysseus: “Better, I say, to
break sod as a farm hand for some poor countryman, on
iron rations, than lord it over all the exhausted dead”
(Odyssey 201).
7/21/2015
23
Two Value Codes



Achilles chose to die
young but in glory
His mother warned him if
he went to war, he would
die young;
Achilles’mother hid the
youth in a girl’s dress;
7/21/2015

The allusion/reference to
“that other world” as the
realm of spirits recalls the
scene in Homer’s
Odyssey, where the ghost
of Achilles addresses
Odysseus: “Better, I say,
to break sod as a farm
hand for some poor
countryman, on iron
rations, than lord it over
all the exhausted dead”
(Odyssey 201).
24
Is Gabriel Suicidal?
Could You Write a Sequel to The Dead?



For the most part, their existence together
seems dull as revealed in the text;
Is the life of Gabriel and Gretta worse than
what Gretta would have had with Michael
then?
What does it take to recover from a
discovery like Gabriel makes? Could
Gabriel overcome his paralysis and go on?
7/21/2015
25
James Joyce’s Delicate Balance


Flip-flop Symbols, Tropes & Metaphors throughout:
Lily: Flowers used for funerals; but Easter symbolizes the
Resurrection of the dead;

Incongruity: between the title, “The Dead” and time of
the party, the high point of the Christmas / New Year
celebration & the time for the feast of epiphany.

West: an established trope for death in the Western
Literature: “The time had come for him to set out on his
journey westward” (Dubliners 225). But The West also
represents the true Ireland, and the home country of
Gabriel’s wife, Gretta—who wants to vacation there.
7/21/2015
26
Death Weighs Heavily Throughout
Framed by The Sisters & The Dead






List of deaths of family
members, relatives, &
friends in The Dead:
_______________;
_______________;
_______________;
_______________;
_______________;
7/21/2015






List of deaths in fiction,
plays, ballads, songs &
paintings:
_______________;
_______________;
_______________;
_______________;
_______________;
27
Ambiguity is not the same as Ambivalence


The most striking strength of “The Dead” lies in its
delicate balance, and more important, something shadowed,
unstated, & veiled. This has made the story a great
challenge in literary interpretation.
Wayne Booth puts the most shrewdly, “In short, the
author’s judgment is always present, always evident to
anyone who knows how to look for it.”[1] But this doesn’t
help much, it seems.
[1] Wayne Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. (Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1961), page 20.
7/21/2015
28
Putting Things in Perspectives


Structurally & Thematically, without The Dead, Dubliners
would have been quite different. Before this story, most
characters are in some way paralyzed or stuck in repeating
patterns (as in Counterparts, the most symmetrical story
that shows how terrible patterns in Irish life are repeated).
The Dead signals a turn towards what I would call Joyce’s
Counterpoint Narrative that weaves together multiple story
lines into a new story, therefore breaking the new ground
not only technically but also thematically.
7/21/2015
29
Joyce’s New Perspective on his Home Country
Irish Warmth, Generosity & Hospitality vs. Joyce’s
experience in Rome—In September of 1906, Joyce
wrote:
“Sometimes thinking of Ireland it seems to me that I
have been unnecessarily harsh. I have reproduced (in
Dubliners at least) none of the attraction of the city for
I have never felt at my ease in any city since I left it
except in Paris. I have not reproduced its ingenuous
insularity and its hospitality.[1]

[1] http://www.mendele.com/WWD/WWDdead.notes.html
7/21/2015
30
Recurrent Explorations




The Dead in Dubliners—Gabriel’s generous tears.
Gabriel has been surprised and wounded. He feels
his identity is under attack; but this makes a portal
of great discoveries about other people, about his
home country; & about himself.
However, in “A Painful Case,” a man who cannot
be generous causes the suicide of the only woman
who ever loved him.
Joyce treats this theme elsewhere, less
satisfactorily in Exiles but more fully in Ulysses.
7/21/2015
31
Generosity: A Consistent Theme


Gabriel weeps (as Jesus weeps), but no longer for himself;
“A shameful consciousness of his own person, assailed
him. He saw himself as a ludicrous figure, acting as a
pennyboy for his aunts, a nervous well-meaning
sentimentalist, orating vulgarians and idealizing his own
clownish lusts, the pitiable ‘fatuous fellow he had caught a
glimpse of in the mirror. Instinctively he turned his back
more to the light lest she might see the shame that burned
upon his forehead” (221).
7/21/2015
32
Truly Connected to the Living through the Dead


Generous tears filled Gabriel’s eyes. He had never felt like that
towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love.
A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had
begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark,
falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to
set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow
was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark
central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen
and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon
waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on
the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the
crooked crosses and headstones,on the spears of the little gate, on the
barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling
faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their
last end, upon all the living and the dead.
7/21/2015
33
If you were to write a Sequel to The Dead

A moment of Pro’lepsis--The representation or
taking of something future as already done or existing;
anticipation: Gabriel has imaginatively visited
Michael Fury’s grave at the end of the story.



Who will be there hand in hand by his side?
Is Gabriel going to commit suicide?
Is Gabriel going to leave Grette for good?
7/21/2015
34
Gabriel’s Gaze: Sympathetic but Critical
Two Models Under Critical Lens
I



“Better Pass boldly into that
other other world in full glory
of some passion”--like Michael
Fury—Let Me Like a Solider
Fall, a ballad mentioned on
page 200;
Gretta claims that “I think he
died for me” (Dubliners 221).
Romanticism has paralyzed
Gretta for so long.
“But he (Michael) [actually]
said he did not want to live”
(Dubliners 223).
7/21/2015
II




“Than fade and wither dismally
with age”—like Aunt Julia.
The song Arrayed for the Bridal vs.
the singer who has passed her
prime time.
During her singing, Gabriel follows
Aunt Julia’s voice instead of
looking at her face; Fred’s applause
at the wrong time;
When “the table burst into applause
and laughter at this sally, Aunt Julia
vainly asked each of her neighbors
in turn to tell her what Gabriel had
said” (Dubliners 205).
35
Are these the only models?
What’s Left Out, Unstated?



The general patterns in comparison or contrast are: goodbetter-best; bad-worse-worst. What is the best? It is up to
the reader to infer.
It is true that “passing boldly into that other world in the
full glory of some passion” is admirable; Joyce did not
claim that this option is better than anything else. It is only
a partial confirmation. Examined closely, a partial
confirmation is a form of partial negation, which implies
that Michael’s model is not the best.
Aunt Julia’s--fading and withering dismally with age is
evidentially the worst. Perhaps she will not make it to the
next party—Consult Dubliners 224.
7/21/2015
36
The Third Model—Gabriel is not Michael!






When you run into a problem, do you run away?
When you are disappointed, do you take it out on
somebody else?
When you recognize that you are not perfect, do you fall
into despair?
Remember the question: what is the sequel, what follows
this story?
Imagine Gabriel and Gretta, actually going back to her
home to visit Michael’s grave.
She needs closure too, and they both need to go on.
7/21/2015
37
Why do We Still Need to Read Prose Fiction?
--To Expand Sympathy-



All over the world, seeking justice often goes hand in hand
with either seeking revenge with violence or falling into
self-pity as evidenced on the daily basis.
We are still living in a “less spacious age” in Joyce’s own
words; Prose fiction makes it available to us others’
experience across time and space, therefore expanding
sympathy.
The question is not: will you die for me if you love me?
But:
If you love me, WILL YOU LIVE FOR ME?!
7/21/2015
38
Consistent Voice, if not the same resolution
Exiles vs. Ulysses


Michael Seidel comments that, “In a sense, Exiles is Ulysses under
psychoanalysis…The play offers a sequence of glosses on the day of
Ulysses, and even, retrospectively, on the evening of the long short
story ‘The Dead’” (Seidel 74). What Richard says to Robert of Bertha
sounds just like what Leopold Bloom in Ulysses, if he could frame it
quite this way, might say to Blazes Boylan, if he could understands it
that way, of Molly Bloom.
“I would not suffer her to give to another what was hers and not mine
to give, because I accepted from her loyalty and made her life poorer
in love. That is my fear. That I stand between her and any moments of
life that should be hers, between her and you, between her and anyone,
between her and anything. I will not do it. I cannot and I will not. I
dare not.” (Seidel 69)[1]
[1] Quoted in Seidel, page 73.
7/21/2015
39
Joyce’s Artistic Credo

"Still I think that out of the dreary sameness of existence, a
measure of dramatic life may be drawn. Even the most
commonplace, the deadest among the living, may play a
part in a great drama. It is sinful foolishness to sigh back
for the good old times, to feed the hunger of us with the
cold stones they afford. Life we must accept as we see it
before out eyes, men and women as we meet them in the
real world, not as we apprehend them in the world of faery.
The great human comedy in which each has share, gives
limitless scope to the true artist, today as yesterday and as
in years gone." [1]

[1] http://www.mendele.com/WWD/WWDdead.notes.html
7/21/2015
40
“Autonomous Self” vs. “Fragmented Self”
The Role of Art as Mediation & Empowerment
What is the role of art in general and
literature in particular in healing the postmodern notion of fragmented self on the one
hand, and on the other, balancing the naïve
Romantic notion of the autonomous self in
the current multicultural milieu?
7/21/2015
41