Gender Relations in James Joyce's "The Dead"

Paper Summary:

This paper is a study on the motif of gender relations in James Joyce's short story "The Dead". In order to observe this specificity of gender relations, the paper begins with an analysis of the main events that destabilize Gabriel's representation of the world. The paper then focuses on Gabriel's character under a Freudian perspective: it interprets Gabriel's relation with his mother and looks at how the relationship affects his perception. The paper then emphasizes the pathetic aspect of Gabriel's role as a male and determines how he denies the real. Finally, the paper underlines the main manifestations of the perturbation of the symbolic order in the text.

From the Paper:

"The gender identity that we are provided with and imposed from the day of our birth happens to be constantly strengthened and fortified by language features and social structures. The work of the Russian structuralist Vladimir Propp has properly underlined the importance of myths and tales on that matter. Paradoxically, this opposition between men and women serves the belief they exist in a complementary relation to one other. But the rise of feminism in the twentieth century has brought along with it some rough debates. Indeed, since it appears that the social meanings of genders are not innate but rather taught, institutionalized, one might question the legitimacy of the traditional male social domination."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Joyce, James, Dubliners, Penguin Classics, New ed. 2000
• Propp, Vladimir, Morphology of the Folktale, University of Texas Press

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• Analytical Essay # 33738 : "Initiation and Epiphany in James Joyce's "The Dead"

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