Clay (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: James Joyce
- First Published: 1914
- Type of Plot: Symbolist
- Time of Work: About 1900
- Setting: Dublin, Ireland
- Principal Characters: Maria, Joe Donnelly
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Psychology or psychologists, Emotions, Fortune-telling or fortune-tellers, Personality, Loneliness, Celibacy, Halloween, Clay
- Locales: Dublin, Ireland
The Story
Halloween (October 31) is the Celtic New Year's Eve and Feast of the Dead, Christianized as the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin and All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2). In Irish folk custom, it is a night of remembrance of dead ancestors and anticipation of the future through various fortune-telling games. This Halloween story, “Clay,” is about Maria, a middle-aged spinster, who works in the kitchen of a laundry established for the reform of prostitutes. Readers follow Maria from the routine of her job there, as she makes her way across the city of...
[The entire page is 1298 words long]
