Two Gallants

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA
LITERATURA INGLESA I
Oscar Ramirez Moreno

THE FAINTHEARTEDNESS AND ITS TWO GALLANTS

The Dubliners, is a collection of stories in which the society of Dublin is object of a lot criticisms. According to Joyce, the society of the beginning of twenty century, was a society which was paralyzed by the indifference and the disability to take an active role ineveryday situations.
Two gallants is the sixth story of the collection The Dubliners, in which do not happen anything at first sight, but following the Joyce's style, an universe is suggested, it is possible to follow the progress of every single character and the narration is attractive itself. The plot is simple, deals with two nobodies who devote their best years of life, to deceive andmanipulate maidservants in order to make them stole things from their bosses.
In the story a wide range of aspects are criticized by Joyce, one of the most important aspects is the faintheartedness.
The faintheartedness is shown in the story two gallants, in a vivid way. It is possible to observe, how the main characters of the story are almost totally immersed in this flaw. Of course, the level ofpusillanimity are not the same for both, one of them has a sort of initiative, but this initiative is not enough to embark himself in a big enterprise.

The most notorious case of faintheartedness, is found in Lenehan, according to the story, he was a defeated who “... was a sporting vagrant armed with a vast stock of stories, limericks and riddles...No one knew how he achieved the stern task of living...” , although, he was almost thirty one years old, his behavior and personal style continued to be the conduct of a very young person who has a lot time to experiment the things that life keeps for him.
As a result of the faintheartedness of Lenehan, he has a servile attitude, “... he had the habit of leaving his flattery open to interpretation of raillery.” He does not want to ruffle the temperof his friend, and he is always using a lot of tact, among other things because he is aware that his advice is not needed, and Corley is able to do “this thing” for himself, therefore he has to be very unctuous in order to receive something as a Corley's disciple.
The tale is full of details that show the pusillanimity of Lenehan, for instance the image when he is in the restaurant, and hemeditates about his current situation and the way in which his best years are disappearing in front of him, in front of his paralysis, “he was tired of knocking about, of pulling the devil by the tail, of shifts and intrigues... would he never get a good job? Would he never have a home of his own?”. Although he is aware of everything, “experience had embittered his heart against the world. But all hopehad not left him.”, he does not consider the possibility to do something in order to improve or to chance his future, instead of, he is very concerned about the temporary situation of him and his friend.

Another case of faintheartedness, is observed in a clear way when the story makes reference to Corley. Although Corley is not as pusillanimous as Lenehan, that does not mean that he is anenterprising person or very determined.
The fainthearted behavior of Corley is evident when he talks about the slavey, who is another character in the story. He says “one night, man... I was going along Dame Street and I spotted a fine tart under Waterhouse's clock and said good-night, you know...” He makes reference to her as if she is a very beautiful woman, but he is conscious that the woman is not agreat thing; this is easy to prove just reading the description given by the author, he says that the maid is “...rank rude health glowed in her face, on her fat red cheeks and in her unabashed blue eyes. Here features were blunt. She had broad nostrils, a straggling mouth which lay open in a contended leer and two projecting front teeth.” It is possible that Corley gives his particular...