“The Dead,” Joyce’s capstone story for his Dubliners collection, represents the most complex application of his device of the epiphany, defined by Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as a moment of revelation in which a new perception of reality is suddenly achieved, illuminating “the soul of the commonest object” or the “whatness of a thing.” These naturalistic narratives involve realistic characters trapped by their environment, but the revelation is symbolic and, in the case of “The Dead,” imagistic, as demonstrated by the snow that is constantly falling.

Joyce structures “The Dead” so as to offer twin epiphanies that are internal and external, subjective and objective, specific and general. The subjective epiphany is Gabriel’s new insight into his wife’s past, which places his own significance in their relationship into a new light. The objective epiphany, grasped by the reader, is Joyce’s revelation about the nature and quality of life in Ireland.

The wonderful achievement of this story is the way in which Joyce raises the stylistic device of the epiphany to a complex symbolic level, and the way in which the subjective epiphany (Gabriel’s perception that his wife has loved another man, idealized and immortalized in her memory) combines with the objective epiphany, the reader’s realization that the Dublin of Joyce’s imagination is a city of the dead, its citizens dwelling in the past and held captive by the memory of those who had gone before them. The snow that is “general all over Ireland” suggests that the whole country is gripped by the cold hand of death. Joyce creates the chilling impression that the dead are more vital and interesting than the living who carry on with their dull routines. The most for which any Irishman can hope, Joyce seems to suggest, is to be immortalized by death, thereby establishing a hold on the living.

The atmosphere of the story also shifts from the external to the internal. Outside, winter, the season of death, is symbolized by the snow. Contrasted to the cold, sterile exterior setting is the interior setting of the Christmas gathering, suggesting warmth, hospitality, and human companionship, but this celebration is dominated by the “distant music” of ancient voices, such as that of Aunt Julia, who was in her prime as a singer thirty years before. The celebration is set, moreover, in a household ruled by two sterile old women.

The symbolism of the story is multiplaned and complex. Gretta has been wooed by two angels—Gabriel, the archangel who will awaken the dead on the final day, and the more militant Michael, whose last name, “Furey,” suggests a natural, west country passion that the educated and more intellectual Gabriel lacks. The “journey westward” mentioned in the final paragraph perhaps alludes to a literal journey, with Gabriel granting his wife’s desire to return to visit Galway, but there are also traditional symbolic associations between traveling westward and man’s natural progression toward death.

Certainly the most complex symbol the story has to offer, however, is the unifying metaphor of the snow, representing isolation and coldness. The disclosure of Gretta’s secret gives Gabriel a new insight into her character and his own, but this is a moment of personal insight for the character, when he realizes another man has kindled in his wife a memory of poetry and romance. The epiphany for the reader is that the dead have a hold over the living, and that snow-covered Dublin is a city of the dead.

The story’s dramatic impact depends on the ironic reversal of Gabriel’s new perception of his wife and, consequently, of himself. Dramatic irony also comes into play as Gabriel reveals himself to the reader through his thoughts, words, and actions. The subjective epiphany is one of self-realization for Gabriel. His newfound self-knowledge puts him in communion with the living and the dead.

The very length of the story, as well as its placement, is indicative of its importance to Joyce. In “The Dead,” as well as in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce demonstrated that he had mastered the technique of ironic distance. Simply put, “The Dead” represents the finest achievement of Joyce’s early naturalistic fiction, offering an exquisitely structured sustained experiment in extended symbolism and effective irony.

Imagism

Imagism was a poetic movement initiated around 1912 by the American expatriate poet Ezra Pound, in collaboration with Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) and Richard Aldington. Key principles of imagism included making a "direct treatment of the thing whether subjective or objective" and using "no word or phrase that does not contribute to the presentation." The imagists aimed to present an image straightforwardly, avoiding any unnecessary sentimentality or metaphor. Although the movement was primarily concerned with poetry, Ezra Pound noted similarities between imagism and James Joyce's writing style. Joyce presents Gabriel's thoughts (subjective) and the story's actions (objective) with minimal commentary. In a review of Dubliners, Pound wrote, "Mr. Joyce's merit...is that he carefully avoids telling you a lot that you don't want to know. He presents his people swiftly and vividly, he does not sentimentalise over them, he does not weave convolutions." Pound appreciated Joyce for these qualities, noting their similarity to his own approach. While Joyce might have been influenced by Pound, he wrote "The Dead" five years before imagism became a recognized movement.

Philosophical and Social Mind-Set

At the dawn of the twentieth century, perceptions of the world were shifting, especially among artists and intellectuals. Three influential thinkers—Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud—significantly shaped the early twentieth-century mindset. Freud argued that mental illness stems from repressed unconscious sexual desires. Marx critiqued the capitalist economic system, while Nietzsche challenged Christian values, famously declaring that God is dead. Their writings transformed the intellectual atmosphere of the time. Consequently, artists and writers could no longer take traditional structures and values for granted. Joyce himself questioned the Catholic church's authority and later rejected it. He also scrutinized middle-class morality and institutions like marriage. With the old values destabilized, artists felt liberated to explore new forms of representing reality, creating works that challenged conventional perceptions.

Irish Cultural Revival

At the dawn of the 20th century, there was a significant effort to rejuvenate Irish culture and language. Established in 1893, the Gaelic League aimed to preserve Irish traditions and promote Gaelic as a commonly spoken language. Molly Ivors supports the Gaelic League's principles. She criticizes Gabriel for preferring to learn European languages and travel to Europe rather than embracing Irish. She insists that Irish is his native tongue, but Gabriel disagrees. In reality, English was the predominant spoken language in Ireland, and Joyce himself believed that reviving Gaelic felt like imposing something unnatural on the culture.

Additionally, there was a literary renaissance focused on Irish folklore. This movement was spearheaded by writers such as William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory, contemporaries of Joyce. They gathered Irish folk tales and created poems and plays inspired by these stories. Joyce, however, did not support this movement either.

Point of View

Point of view refers to the perspective from which a writer narrates the story. "The Dead" is told from a third-person limited perspective. Although the narrator describes the actions of many characters and some events Gabriel does not see, only Gabriel's thoughts are explored. Joyce's writing style is also significant when discussing point of view. He was one of the pioneers of the mimetic style. Mimetic style imitates the character's language to reveal their thoughts, rather than using objective language. In "The Dead," the opening sentence exemplifies this style: "Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet." The phrase "literally run off her feet" mimics what Lily might say. Another example is when Gabriel reviews his speech and worries he "would fail with them just as he had failed with the girl in the pantry.” This phrase reflects Gabriel's inner dialogue rather than an objective narrator and demonstrates his frustration over his earlier interaction with Lily. While this technique is common in modern fiction, Joyce was one of the first to employ it.

Realism

"The Dead" fits within the realist tradition of literature. Realist writers aim to depict life authentically without sensational plots or interpretations of events. A reader might feel that nothing significant occurs, mirroring real life. In "The Dead," Joyce largely shows rather than tells. He presents the characters' thoughts and actions without commentary. Even at the conclusion, when Gabriel experiences a revelation, the reader is left to discern its meaning independently. This presentation without commentary compels readers to interpret events for themselves.

Setting

Setting refers to the time and place where the story's action occurs. Like the rest of Dubliners, "The Dead" is set in early twentieth-century Dublin, Ireland. Joyce aimed to write "a chapter in the moral history" of his country, choosing Dublin as it seemed to him the center of paralysis. The story's events unfold in two specific locations: the home of Kate, Julia, and Mary Jane on Usher Island, an actual part of Dublin, and the Gresham, a fashionable Dublin hotel. Critics have deduced that the story takes place on January 5th, the eve of Epiphany.

Epiphany

The term "Epiphany" originates from a Greek word meaning "manifestation." In Christianity, the feast of Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, commemorating the revelation of the infant Jesus to the wise men from the East. More broadly, the term signifies the manifestation of God's presence in the world. However, James Joyce transformed the term into a literary concept. He defined it as a moment of spiritual revelation that unveils the true nature of a character or object, often using it as the climax in many of his stories. In "The Dead," Gabriel experiences such a spiritual revelation early in the morning of Epiphany after Gretta shares the story of Michael Furey.

Symbolism

A symbol is an object, person, or place that represents something else, typically an abstract idea. For instance, some critics interpret Mr. Browne as a symbol of British rule in Ireland. The most contested symbol in "The Dead" is the snow that blankets "all the living and the dead." Critics are divided on whether it signifies Gabriel's newfound ability to transcend his self-centeredness or if it represents the paralysis he continues to struggle with and cannot overcome.

1900s: In 1905, Arthur Griffith established the Sinn Fein movement. The name translates to "we ourselves" or "ourselves alone." The organization aimed to employ civil disobedience and passive resistance against British rule.

1990s: Since aligning with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the civil war in the 1920s, Sinn Fein has served as the IRA's political wing and has played a crucial role in peace negotiations in Northern Ireland.

1900s: The early 1900s saw a resurgence of Irish culture and language, partly driven by the Gaelic League. Artists collected traditional Irish music and folklore, and wearing Celtic symbols became popular.

1990s: A new wave of Irish cultural revival is evident through the popularity of stage shows like "Riverdance." For the first time, many Protestants are embracing Irish dancing, a practice previously dominated by Catholics.

1900s: In 1907, Britain granted New Zealand dominion status, allowing it self-governance while retaining the British monarch as the head of state. However, Britain continued to rule over Ireland.

1990s: British rule in Hong Kong ended in 1998. Although a cease-fire exists in Northern Ireland, it remains under British governance.

1900s: At the beginning of the century, Protestants generally supported British rule, whereas Catholics favored independence or home rule. A small but influential faction of Catholics pushed for radical nationalism.

1990s: Protestant and Catholic loyalties have largely remained unchanged, especially in Northern Ireland, where tensions between the two groups remain high. Militant organizations from both sides have carried out numerous violent acts.

The Dead is a 1987 film adaptation of Joyce's story, directed by John Huston. The film features Anjelica Huston as Gretta Conroy and Donald McCann as Gabriel Conroy.

The Dead and Other Stories (1993) is an audiocassette released by Penguin, narrated by actor Gerard McSorley.

‘‘'The Dead' and Other Stories from Dubliners (1989) is an audiocassette produced by The Audio Partners, with performances by Danny Huston and Kate Mulgrew.

Sources

Burke, Kenneth. "Stages in 'The Dead'." In Dubliners: Text and Criticism, edited by Robert Scholes and A. Walton Litz, New York: Penguin, 1996, pp. 395-401.

Ellmann, Richard. "The Backgrounds of 'The Dead'." In Dubliners: Text and Criticism, edited by Robert Scholes and A. Walton Litz, New York: Penguin, 1996, pp. 373-88.

Gould, Gerald. A review of Dubliners, New Statesman, June 27, 1914, pp. 374-75.

Macy, John. The Critical Game, New York: Boni and Liveright, 1922, pp. 317-22.

Pound, Ezra. "Dubliners and Mr. Joyce." In James Joyce: The Critical Tradition, edited by Robert H. Deming, New York: Barnes and Noble, 1970, pp. 66-68.

Schwarz, Daniel R. "Gabriel Conroy's Psyche: Character as Concept in Joyce's 'The Dead'." In The Dead, edited by Daniel R. Schwarz, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994, pp. 102-24.

Shurgot, Michael W. "Windows of Escape and the Death Wish in Man." Eire-Ireland, Vol. 17, No. 4, 1982, pp. 58-71.

Tate, Allen. "The Dead." In Dubliners: Text and Criticism, edited by Robert Scholes and A. Walton Litz, New York: Penguin, 1996, pp. 389-94.

Times Literary Supplement. A review of Dubliners, June 18, 1914, p. 298.

Further Reading

Anderson, Chester G. James Joyce, London: Thames and Hudson, 1967.
A straightforward and detailed biography of Joyce, featuring numerous illustrations of Joyce, his family, friends, and Dublin.

Burgess, Anthony. Here Comes Everybody: An Introduction to James Joyce for the Ordinary Reader, London: Faber and Faber, 1965.
An accessible introduction to Joyce meant for readers who, as Burgess notes, might feel intimidated by academic approaches.

Garret, Peter K., editor. Twentieth Century Interpretations of "Dubliners", Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1968.
An insightful collection of essays that are valuable for gaining a deeper understanding of Joyce and Dubliners.

Gifford, Don. Joyce Annotated, University of California Press, 1982.
A thorough annotation of Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This reference is essential for grasping the cultural context of both works. Gifford provides an introduction on the history of Ireland and explains many obscure references.