Male and Female Paralysis in James Joyces Dubliners Essay -- Dubliner

potent and Female person Paralysis in capital of IrelandersCritics widely recognized that each floor within James Joyces Dubliners contains a theme of paralysis. In fact, Joyce himself wrote, My blueprint was to put out a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis (Joyce, letter to Grant Richards, 5 May 1906). Contained in this moral history called Dubliners are twelve stories that overlay with the paralysis of a central male fiber and only tetrad that compete with so called paralysis within a central effeminate character. It could be said that Joyce did this merely because he is a male, therefore could write the character better. However, Joyce writes female characters just as convincing as male characters. In looking at the male-centered stories versus the female-centered stories I find a difference. As the author Marilyn French says in her book Shakespeares Division of Experience , The basic distinction in human social order since the beginning of enter history has been gender (French, 11). While it is obvious that each of the stories within Dubliners deal with paralysis, I contend that the paralysis within a male character and the paralysis within a female character are basically different. Male paralysis is evident in the story Araby, about a young boys obsession over his friends sister. His life revolves around thinking about her and when the next time he is going to see her will be, even though he has never had a conversation with her. He comments, I had never spoken to her turn out for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood (Joyce 20). His life is ruled by this fascination, and when she final... ...wrote the male and female characters differently within Dubliners. Works CitedBenstock, Bernard. Critical Essays on James Joyce. G.K. Hall & Co. Boston, Massachusetts 1985.French, Marilyn. Shakespeares Division of Experience. Summit Books. unused York, New York 1981. Joyce, James. Dubliners. Washington Square Press. New York, New York 1998. Seidel, Michael. James Joyce A Short Introduction. Blackwell Publishers, Inc. Oxford, UK 2002. Works ConsultedFairhall, James. James Joyce and the Question of History. Cambridge University Press. New York, New York 1993. Garrett, bill K., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Dubliners. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 1968. Torchiana, Donald T. Backgrounds for Joyces Dubliners. Allen & Unwin, Inc. Winchester, Massachusetts 1986.