Jesse’s Reviews > Dubliners > Status Update
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.
— 7 hours, 31 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.
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Jesse
is on page 151 of 275
“Grace”
Mr Kernon has “fallen down the stairs” at a bar and has appeared to have lost his money, perhaps to a debt-collector. Much of this story is a dialogue where Kernon’s friends come to call at his house and have discussions that eventually become fumblingly theological in an attempt to bolster his faith as a converted Catholic, him having been born a Protestant.
— 1 hour, 15 min ago
Mr Kernon has “fallen down the stairs” at a bar and has appeared to have lost his money, perhaps to a debt-collector. Much of this story is a dialogue where Kernon’s friends come to call at his house and have discussions that eventually become fumblingly theological in an attempt to bolster his faith as a converted Catholic, him having been born a Protestant.
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.
— 3 hours, 30 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.
— 3 hours, 59 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 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.
— 7 hours, 52 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.
— 8 hours, 9 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 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.
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.
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7 hours, 26 min ago
Duffy is an excellent skewering of the intellectual type. Joyce paints this image of Mrs. Sinico’s obvious loneliness in her situation (neglected by her well-to-do husband) and Duffy sees himself as elevating her intellectually while looking to her as some sort of spiritual muse, becoming upset once she demonstrates that she is craving physical contact (as well). Duffy is not an idiot, though I was raging at his immediate reaction to the newspaper article announcing her death. He realizes her lonesomeness and feels personal responsibility in her dissolution and death.
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The complex truth is that Mrs. Sinico was lonely and that her drinking was a way of coping with her loneliness. The story implies that she may have committed suicide but it’s just as likely that she was drunk when she tried to cross the tracks. Her happiness was not solely Duffy’s responsibility, though it was an opportunity the both of them to relieve them of their loneliness. Better for her to have the power to break free of her loveless marriage, of course, but better to have an emotionally fulfilling affair than to be an alcoholic who is struck dead by a train.
