Dubliners

Music plays a central role in several of the stories in the collection, often as a way to connect characters to their past. The clearest example comes in the final story, “The Dead,” in which the leading female character overhears a song at a party which dredges up a flood of painful memories. Gretta listens to Mr. Bartell D'Arcy singing “The Lass of Aughrim,” an Irish variant of the Child ballad “The Lass of Roch Royal” and it transports her to a moment in her past—the memory of a passionate first love. Joyce uses the memory as the story’s major turning point that alters Gretta and Gabriel’s relationship in an irrevocable way. In “Clay,” the protagonist sings a few verses of the song “I Dreamt that I Dwelt in Marble Halls.” In this instance, Joyce positions the song as aspirational, looking to the future, rather than the past. The images of “marble halls” and other luxuries contrast the character’s impoverished life and internal stagnation.

In “A Mother,” the story’s central conflict hinges around a series of musical concerts and Kathleen’s role as a pianist. Initially, playing in the concert is considered an honor and a way to enhance Kathleen’s social standing, highlighting the significance of music in Irish culture, and the historical importance awarded to gifted musicians. Because of this story’s emphasis on Irish culture, Kathleen’s musical aptitude presents as a social advantage. However, the story shifts its focus from her music to monetary compensation—the conflict between Kathleen’s mother and host of the concert renders her unable to play. Joyce also uses music as a form of communication for his characters or a rhetorical device to convey specificity of tone or setting. In Eveline, the protagonist recalls her lover singing “The Lass that Loves a Sailor” to charm her, and in “Two Gallants,” the central characters walk by a street musician playing a traditional tune.