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Vidya introduces: Since this story was scheduled for this week . I thought I would start the discussion on this one Another simple story (IMO) . This story is again a direct attack on the hypocrisy rampant in the society which seems to have percolated onto the insides of the individual . A story of a girl 'seducing' a man with the sole intention of 'getting' him to marry her made me shudder at the thought of it . And this with her mother's support (:-))) The description of the mother in the first few lines led me to expect more out of her . She is shown as a female who won't take injustices against her quietly. Didn't she find the thought of scheming to get her daughter married a distressing idea ....... After her disastrous marriage , did not the idea of a marriage without love (as she must have found out after speaking to the guy in question ) strike her as being unjust ? Or is it supposed to be a comment on the state of affairs during their time .... the sentence "The decisive expressionof her great florid face satisfied her, and she thought of some mothers she knew who could not get their daughters off their hands." indicating how much of a 'success' it is going to be for her . Polly again clearly understands what was the aim of her mother's silence ( "she did not wish it to be thought that in her wise innocence she had divined the intention behind her mother's tolerance. " ) but doesn't want her mother to know she knows (:-))) "The recollection of his confession of he night before was a cause of acute pain to him; the priest had drawn out every ridiculous detail of the affair, and in the end had so magnified his sin that he was almost thankful at being afforded a loophole of reparation." Joyce's disdain towards church coming across very clearly again here But in the end I couldn't help feeling Bob bought it upon himself (:-))) If a person cannot trust his instincts ("His instinct urged him to remain free, not to marry.") and stand up for himself , instead getting bogged down by a false sense of honour ("even his sense of honour told him that reparation must be made for such a sin. ") and allowing his life to be manipulated , he deserves what he gets . In a way , Bob represented everything I wouldn't want a main character in a story to stand for ........ I guess Joyce's way of saying what not to be (:-)))) Did anyone feel he would have refused to marry her ....... Can the ending of the story be that ? (I didn't find it possible ...... but how happy I'ld be with that ending (:-)))) Maureen , I just read what you had written about the previous story ...... And I guess you are right . The theme has to be the same according to what Joyce himself has said ...... Everything has to deal with "the fun aspect of life " :-))))) And I guess going by the same argument Bob could never have said 'No' for the marriage . Only then will he (atleast in part ) stand for Dublin Waiting for more symbolic reading of the story , Vidya |
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