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Those of you who have read Rasik's summary do not have to read the original story, as he has done a very efficient job. Clay is infact quite a short,short story, unlike for example A Little Cloud. But it is not as clear. I mean, I had to read it twice to see if I had missed anything. I felt that Clay is a strange story. In the introduction of the penguin edition, Terence Brown says that Clay is similar to Araby as both of them end with disappointments. I admit that I would not have thought it myself. So Maria wants to marry, hopes that at least this year she will get the ring of the barmbracks, the festive bread. She has entertained this hope since quite a few years. Joyce writes, "Maria had to laugh and say she didn't want any ring or man either; and when she laughed her gray-green eyes sparkled with disappointed shyness and the tip of her nose nearly met the tip of her chin." As Rasik said this last part of the sentence appears again and again. What is Joyce conveying here? That Maria laughed heartily, often? Not that simple, I am afraid. She is supposed to have "a very long nose and a very long chin", though she was "a very, very small person". That perhaps is one of the reasons why she had to remain single. This reference to the very long nose and very long chin makes one think of Maria as a witch - The picture of the witch in the story Haensel and Gretel comes to my mind. (I don't know how it is called in English!) The connection to the story of Haensel and Gretel can be extended a bit more. Haensel and Gretel are brother and sister. In this story, Maria also had looked after two kids, two brothers, Joe and Alphy. Haensel and Gretel's witch was also surrounded by many kids, all baked into bread; In Clay Maria is also surrounded by kids, all gay and merry. That witch dies by being pushed into the oven. Here Maria does not die. But touches death by touching clay. Rasik that explanation is great, that the soft thing she touches is clay, and means death. Till I read your msg, I had not understood the significance of the title nor what she really had touched:-( Apparently Maria is more a witch and not mother Mary. Then why is she called Maria? (Maria is the German version of Mary. Why does Joyce not use the name Mary? Zürich connection?? Actually not, because if he wrote this story in 1906 he was then living in Trieste.) Because as Rasik mentioned, she was " child-like, wistful, virginal, how she maintains the fictional "nice" image of herself by all kinds of defence mechanisms. " She keeps on saying that she was liked very much by all the people. Is she only trying to hide her witch-like nature? But why does Joyce want her to be a witch? Beats me. We can't simply abandon the story saying Maria is a witch. There is this part of hers which wants to marry, (witches are not married, I hope ;-)), and gets disappointed again and again. This is a normal person speaking here. She is not any longer young, as the two boys - Joe and Alphy - she had looked after have grown up and have their own families. That Maria still hopes to marry shows that she is still wistful, "virginal". I can only add my name to the following by Rasik! "Maureen, this story is a challenge to you to expand on the saint and the witch theme, rich in symbolism. Sorry, I have had to leave this half way" Chandra Questions, questions and more questions. This story was short and perplexing. Thanks to Rasik and Chandra for beginning. Perhaps Maria is not a witch, but is perceived as one due to her physical appearance. Inside she may be "wistful, virginal" and garner local accalim as a peace-maker but appearance-conscious people only see the outer image which puts them off. But then "everyone was so fond of Maria;" her brother Joe often invited her to live with them and she is genuinely liked by co-workers and family, though maybe in a somewhat indulgent way. Is this the story of a girl forced to mother her siblings "after the break-up at home?" Has she, like Eveline, subsumed her own passions for the good of the family, hoever ill they pay her back with their quarrels? She will never get the ring, Joyce's tone implies, never find love and marry. Her encounter with the older gentleman on the streetcar so unnerves her that she forgets a parcel and later feels "shame, vexation and disappointment." When she touches the clay her relatives are shocked into silence. Are they that superstitious to scold the children that "that is no play?" And somehow Maria doesn't get it. If this is a common Hallow's Eve game, why doesn't she understand the significance of what she has touched? That made me wonder about her even more--was she "simple" a la a sort of holy fool? Is that why I got that underlying sense of kindly indulgence from her family, or was it merely due to her spinster status that made her appear unprotected to her family? Finally, the meaning of the ring, the bible and even the clay are clear now, but what did the dish of water symbolize? Thanks for your indulgence. I hope some answers exist! --Beth |
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