Dubliners

Commentary on The Boarding House by James Joyce

The Boarding House is one of the short stories out of James Joyce's
collection of Dubliners. In the work, Mrs. Mooney is a wife of an
abusivebutcher. Experiencing a unsuccessful marriage, she directs her
attention to the boarding house and keeps a close eye on the men
interacting with Polly, her daughter and keep her away form inferiormen. She allows intimacy to develop between Polly and Mr. Doran. She
then accused him of "taking advantage of Polly's youth and
inexperience" and demands reparation. Mt Doran's fear of a sulliedreputation forces him to accept the marriage.

The three principal characters in The Boarding House are all
constrained by social conventions. They all lack the power to govern
their ownlives. Mrs. Mooney marries a drunken husband who "fights
with her in the presence of customers" (pg.53) and ruins the business
"by buying bad meat." (pg.53) In face of such tormenting marriage, sheis motivated by the instincts for survival to earn a living by the
boarding house to support herself and her children. Her ultimate goal
is to avert her daughter, Polly, ending up an old maidlike her but to
"get her daughter off her hands" (pg.56) and confirm that her daughter
is provided with financial security. It is the concept of materialism
existed in Dublin which furtherheightens class distinction. Mrs.
Mooney set criterion for Polly's partner in which he must be
presentable and withs table income.

As for Mr. Doran, he is obviously the victim and being manipulatedthroughout the affair. He was being seduced by Mrs. Mooney's daughter
and lured into having sex with her daughter. Society puts extra
pressure on Mr. Doran and forces him to accept the reparationproposed
by Mrs. Mooney. His promising social position makes him fail to
withstand publicity nor risk the loss of his job as "a great catholic
wine-merchant." (pg.56) Moreover, the church also...