The Boarding House, By James Joyce (1914)

 The Boarding House, By James Joyce (1914)

Yuna Song

Rating: 7.5/10

It is interesting that in 'The Boarding House', a character who is truly decisive and clear appears unlike in other short stories by James Joyce. Mrs. Mooney opens her own business after separation from her husband, which shows her independence and ability of Mrs. Mooney, which is distinguishing from most other women characters who are used to be controlled or to be dependent on men.

➤'The Boarding House'

Furthermore, due to the point that Polly and Mr. Doran were not married by true love but other external factors, I thought it could be also related to 'The Lady with the Dog'. Just like Gurov and Anna were not satisfied with their specious marriage and ended up having an affair, Polly, and especially Mr. Doran is having their marriage focused on their public life. Living in a place where "everyone knows everyone else's business," social standing overrides emotions like love in 'The Boarding House.' Even if we don't know if Polly and Mr. Doran will live happily together or not, the theme that people prioritize public life over private life, resulting society full of untruth and hypocrisy shared in both stories shows us the problematic atmosphere of Ireland in those days very well. (199 words)