Counterparts (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
- Principal Characters: Farrington, Mr. Alleyne
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Class conflict, Alienation, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Violence, Employment or employees
- Locales: Dublin, Ireland
The Story
The action of “Counterparts,” one of James Joyce's Dubliners stories, occurs during a February afternoon and evening in the life of a lawyer's scrivener in Dublin. Farrington, the heavyset protagonist, is frustrated by his demeaning, monotonous job of copying legal documents. Mr. Alleyne, his boss, chastises him for taking an extended lunch hour, and rather than complete the work in hand, Farrington slips away from his desk to a nearby pub for a quick mid-afternoon drink.
Unable to finish the task before closing time, he turns it in two documents...
[The entire page is 1396 words long]
