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Maureen writes: i am sorry, i have been very bad these days and have not even re-read _after the races_, but i did love the story... vidya muses: "but isn't his basic theme getting to be the same ..... Waiting for somebody to throw open a totally different line of thought (:-))))" the thing is, that the collection of dubliners is a thematic collection -- in other words, joyce had written many many more short stories at the time this collection was published, but he chose the fifteen included in dubs specially for collective publication, *and*, he put them in a precise order intentionally, and for thematic purposes. the book is about growing up, becoming a big person, from JJ's perspective -- i mean, it is about climbing the moutain of life and finishing that endeavor at some point. now, when we got to _eveline_ i thought the feel of the story and its issues had in fact changed. he switches to a female focus and female narration and adult female issues from having dwelt previously in the muckety muck of male puberty/adolescence. (sorry guys! :) anyway, in _after the races_ he switches themes once again -- here, he is dealing with all kinds of *class* issues, and blatantly, which in previous stories, such as araby and eveline, he had only mildly hinted at. this story (i felt) to have been an *entire* move away from the feel of his previous stories. but i will say that stories ending with ideas of thwarted 'hopes, lost enthusiasm, doomed futures, societal strangleholds' all that *fun* stuff? ;-) ...that's pretty well joyce's 'view' in a lot of his fiction (and in his life). his only salvation later, as we will see, is exile because he feels that he can not survive in ireland, it will kill him, suffocate him, if he stays. the *seed* of that idea is one of the binding threads of dubs. in any case, i think he is taking us thru a life cycle in this collection of stories which ends in _the dead_ or at death, and so at this point (eve, two gallants, after the races) we are past adolescence, we are woefully confused about sex, we are frustrated about the fact that Ole Ireland will not allow us so many of the things we want and need and yet, we don't understand why our society restricts us from them -- we only know that they are *sinful* for some innocuous reason having something to do with the sacred heart of jesus and with Our Blessed Mother. :-) so here we are as young adults, trying to make our way in the world and wondering where we fit into the portrait amongst our peers, and the greater portrait of the land -- that is, _after the races_. in this, he gives each guy a part in the play, they are players in a game literally, and players in a much bigger game. the young adult eveline loses her courage, falling prey to a duty which we can only guess ruins her life; the young adult male loses the girl in _two gallants_; and here we have a number of young adult males playing a game (or 2?) that they will either win or lose. :) i think it is important to consider who wins and why? also, the chap who did not play the game, who stood on the sidelines making infrequent comments? he is important -- sorry can't recall names just now. i think he is the voice of joyce, a conscientious objector, so to speak. there are so many juicy and delicious issues played with in this story -- i will write later about class issues in _after the races_. i should not be speaking from such distant memories... so i may have to correct mistakes made here later! :)) END OF "AFTER THE RACES" |
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