The Short Story “The Boarding House” by James Joyce

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Subjective Perspective
The Quote Analysis
Theme of Marriage
The Main Idea from Joyce’s Story
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The work under review in this paper is The Boarding House by James Joyce. It is a fictional work of storytelling that the author uses to present a tale through the perspective of three characters, namely Polly Mooney, Mr. Doran, and Mrs. Mooney. The canvas afforded to Joyce James allows us to see matters through the different characters’ views. A good instance of this feature was the different perspectives of the characters towards the wedding of Doran to Polly under the duress of Mrs. Mooney (Joyce). The paper features a subjective interpretation of the story, the theme of marriage, an analysis of a significant quote, and James Joyce’s main idea conveyed through the story.

The Subjective Perspective

The author expounds on the lengths Mrs. Mooney’s character will go to achieve her intentions by introducing the aspect of marriage. In her vision, she seeks to secure her daughter’s future and herself by taking advantage of her daughter’s affair. She fails to interrupt her daughter’s love affair until a time when the outcome might prove advantageous in her plans (Joyce). Based on her previous utterances about getting Polly to work in the boarding house to entertain the guests, it is possible to conclude that Mrs. Mooney was wittingly prostituting her daughter to Mr. Doran.

The Quote Analysis

When Mrs. Mooney insists that Mr. Doran has to marry her daughter Polly, the worried young man wishes to decline to go through with the wedding. Mr. Doran had already begun feeling guilty courtesy of the priest who rebuked the affair, his family who would not respect marriage to a lower class family, and his employer who could learn of his affair and fire him. He longed to leave for another country, but “the implacable faces of his employer and the Madam stared upon his discomfiture” (6). Nevertheless, he feels that marrying Polly is a bad idea, leading to Polly claiming, “I will put an end to myself” (5). On top of the pressure from his priest, Mrs. Mooney, his workplace, and his family, Polly Mooney becomes another source of his bane, with the quote proving the pivotal swing to his final decision.

Theme of Marriage

The standout theme is marriage, which covers a major part of the story. The main character, Mrs. Mooney, was married to a man fond of drunkenness and being reckless, which led to their separation (Joyce). Despite the split, Mrs. Mooney continues to get referred to as Mrs., a title for a married woman, yet she is no longer married to her husband. The other depiction of marriage is just as grim as the forced wedlock of Mr. Doran and Polly Mooney. The union is mainly convenient for Mrs. Mooney, who wishes to gain social standing by having her daughter marry one of the accomplished young men. The marriage is a device of manipulation for her to own benefit, which ends up consuming Polly Mooney and making her think it is a good idea, despite the exploitation by her mother.

The Main Idea from Joyce’s Story

The main idea that James Joyce wished to convey through this story was perhaps a moral lesson to the masses on their skewed perception of women. The story is set in the early twentieth century when women faced gender inequality in society. The result is that when the male characters in the novel encounter Polly Mooney, they all seek to offer her safety. Her brother Jack seems ready to protect her honor, while the assertion by Polly that she would end her life ends up being the last straw in Mr. Doran’s quest to avoid marrying her (Joyce). In truth, the women emerge as some of the deftest characters in the story since they outmaneuver everyone to get their desired outcome.

Conclusion

James Joyce provides the audience with a fantastic fictional body of work in “The Boarding House”. The perspective herein focuses on the character of Mrs. Mooney, who survived adversity in her broken marriage to end up being a source of hardship. Her adversity creates the platform upon which the story thrives by focusing on her scheme, trapping Mr. Doran into proposing to Polly under duress. While he seems to hesitant, Polly Mooney provides the final push by threatening to end her life. Eventually, this is an elaborate plan by two nifty women erroneously taken for non-influential characters in society. It certainly sets the charge for women to get more credit than they are due for their unrecognized efforts.

Works Cited

Joyce, J. The Boarding House: Short story. HarperCollins, 2014, pp. 1-8.

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