Jesse’s Reviews > Dubliners > Status Update
Jesse
is on page 55 of 275
“The Boarding House”
A tiny drama where a fairly well to do man in his 30s is entrapped in a marriage with the daughter of the woman who runs the house he boards at. You get a sense of the calculating motives of everyone at play, even Bob suddenly realizing how Polly’s brother must be in on it as well given how inflamed he was at a different man making a pass at his sister.
— Jan 29, 2026 09:29AM
A tiny drama where a fairly well to do man in his 30s is entrapped in a marriage with the daughter of the woman who runs the house he boards at. You get a sense of the calculating motives of everyone at play, even Bob suddenly realizing how Polly’s brother must be in on it as well given how inflamed he was at a different man making a pass at his sister.
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Jesse
is on page 128 of 275
“A Mother”
This is some Dance Moms style shit where Machiavellian Mrs. Kearney torpedos her daughter’s burgeoning musical career over the eight guineas she was sort of promised for four concerts, holding the final, big night hostage not once but twice, bluff called on the second. Not only is her daughter’s reputation ruined, but hers as a middle-class lady is shot through even more so.
— 1 hour, 47 min ago
This is some Dance Moms style shit where Machiavellian Mrs. Kearney torpedos her daughter’s burgeoning musical career over the eight guineas she was sort of promised for four concerts, holding the final, big night hostage not once but twice, bluff called on the second. Not only is her daughter’s reputation ruined, but hers as a middle-class lady is shot through even more so.
Jesse
is on page 115 of 275
“Ivy Day in the Committee Room”
This piece sketches out political realities in Dublin and Ireland through a group of men who have been canvassing for an election and have now gathered up in their meeting room. The notes add tons of invaluable context regarding Parnell and subtleties which are lost to myself, an American reader some 120 years after this was written.
— 2 hours, 17 min ago
This piece sketches out political realities in Dublin and Ireland through a group of men who have been canvassing for an election and have now gathered up in their meeting room. The notes add tons of invaluable context regarding Parnell and subtleties which are lost to myself, an American reader some 120 years after this was written.
Jesse
is on page 98 of 275
“A Painful Case”
Mr. Duffy, an intellectual, begins a sort of affair with a married woman, a friendship with an erotic undertone that he is loathe to cross out of his high-mindedness. When things go sour, Duffy undergoes an amazing transformation, from reviling his would-be mistress to being saturated with empathy for her as he finally senses his own profound loneliness.
— 5 hours, 48 min ago
Mr. Duffy, an intellectual, begins a sort of affair with a married woman, a friendship with an erotic undertone that he is loathe to cross out of his high-mindedness. When things go sour, Duffy undergoes an amazing transformation, from reviling his would-be mistress to being saturated with empathy for her as he finally senses his own profound loneliness.
Jesse
is on page 88 of 275
“Clay”
A slice of life for a little Irish Catholic woman who works at a Protestant rescue mission. It’s a tidy existence that Maria seems comfortable with but you can see Joyce’s hints at the fraying of the edges. The climax is an Irish Halloween party (very different from what we think of) with a moment regarding the title that would glide on by if you weren’t familiar with the rules of the game.
— 6 hours, 9 min ago
A slice of life for a little Irish Catholic woman who works at a Protestant rescue mission. It’s a tidy existence that Maria seems comfortable with but you can see Joyce’s hints at the fraying of the edges. The climax is an Irish Halloween party (very different from what we think of) with a moment regarding the title that would glide on by if you weren’t familiar with the rules of the game.
Jesse
is on page 81 of 275
“Counterparts”
Portrait of a drunk, a man who copes with his spiritual paralysis by drinking on the job (which he has been doing poorly at), binge drinking with his friends, and then beating his helpless children when he goes home in deference to his general impotence. You can almost feel for Farrington at first but as the day goes on you can see the depth of the rut that he’s in.
— 6 hours, 26 min ago
Portrait of a drunk, a man who copes with his spiritual paralysis by drinking on the job (which he has been doing poorly at), binge drinking with his friends, and then beating his helpless children when he goes home in deference to his general impotence. You can almost feel for Farrington at first but as the day goes on you can see the depth of the rut that he’s in.
Jesse
is on page 69 of 275
“A Little Cloud”
Little Chandler is a sensitive man who reconnects with his friend who had gone to London and made something big of himself. He compares their lives and in a moment of weakness while cradling his own child at home he finds himself resenting his wife and baby as part of his stagnation, part of what holds him back from leading the “romantic” life of his friend.
— Jan 29, 2026 10:02AM
Little Chandler is a sensitive man who reconnects with his friend who had gone to London and made something big of himself. He compares their lives and in a moment of weakness while cradling his own child at home he finds himself resenting his wife and baby as part of his stagnation, part of what holds him back from leading the “romantic” life of his friend.
Jesse
is on page 47 of 275
“Two Gallants”
A story about two young men who are swaggering around Dublin. The story is about exploitation, but it’s not exactly sexual but financial as the servant Corley is making time with is being grifted for money, and what the notes describe as a considerable sum of money for either them or for that matter the servant woman: a single gold coin.
— Jan 28, 2026 07:01AM
A story about two young men who are swaggering around Dublin. The story is about exploitation, but it’s not exactly sexual but financial as the servant Corley is making time with is being grifted for money, and what the notes describe as a considerable sum of money for either them or for that matter the servant woman: a single gold coin.
Jesse
is on page 36 of 275
“After the Race”
Jimmy is a fortunate young man who basks in the afterglow of a successful car race but his desire to be part of the cosmopolitan happening of the after party is a Pyrrhic endeavor, revealing that he is out of his depth among the reveling elite, losing heavily at a card game whose main winner is—you guessed it—the token Englishman.
— Jan 27, 2026 01:21PM
Jimmy is a fortunate young man who basks in the afterglow of a successful car race but his desire to be part of the cosmopolitan happening of the after party is a Pyrrhic endeavor, revealing that he is out of his depth among the reveling elite, losing heavily at a card game whose main winner is—you guessed it—the token Englishman.
Jesse
is on page 30 of 275
“Eveline”
Joyce’s portrait of Irish stagnation now paints a young woman who wants to escape the spiral by emigrating to Buenos Aires with her sailor beau but for a complicated morass of reasons finds herself unable to do so when pull comes to yank. The dichotomies of desire, duty, and despair are an echo of her own mother’s descent into delirium.
— Jan 27, 2026 01:00PM
Joyce’s portrait of Irish stagnation now paints a young woman who wants to escape the spiral by emigrating to Buenos Aires with her sailor beau but for a complicated morass of reasons finds herself unable to do so when pull comes to yank. The dichotomies of desire, duty, and despair are an echo of her own mother’s descent into delirium.
Jesse
is on page 25 of 275
“Araby”
Joyce is masterful in crafting stories that are just as entrenched in Irish metaphor as they are relatable in and of themselves. In this case, a young boy desperately in love with his friend’s (older?) sister goes to a bazaar with the intent to buy something for her because she cannot go. The bazaar is almost wound down by the time he gets there, though, and he is consumed with impotent anger.
— Jan 27, 2026 12:31PM
Joyce is masterful in crafting stories that are just as entrenched in Irish metaphor as they are relatable in and of themselves. In this case, a young boy desperately in love with his friend’s (older?) sister goes to a bazaar with the intent to buy something for her because she cannot go. The bazaar is almost wound down by the time he gets there, though, and he is consumed with impotent anger.
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Jan 29, 2026 09:33AM
Like, Bob appears to have had sex with Polly, okay, and his desire to simply escape from Dublin is counterbalanced by the fact that Polly, her mother, and brother basically allowed him to entrap himself. The story isn’t so much that Bob has been railroaded into a responsibility but more an illustration of how the meager folk in Dublin are cannibalizing each other in an attempt to claw their way out from the bottom, much as the Two Gallants.
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Of course, Bob’s faith (or as Joyce details it his straying from the iconoclasm of his youth, settling back into familiar Catholic ways) is part of why Bob simply gives in to his situation.
