The National Romance

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how in both the short story, "The Charwoman's Daughter" and the play, "Translations", James Stephens and Brian Friel use the national romance to illustrate the duel fates of Ireland under the influences of both English rule and traditional Irish culture. It looks at how Stephens creates a fairy-tale-like world where Ireland is a helpless damsel in distress trying to escape into the arms of Irish nationalism and away from the clutches of big, bad England. In contrast, it shows how Friel creates a more romanticized view of how the union between Ireland and England could be if the English only showed respect for Irish customs.

From the Paper:

"If Mary is the princess in Stephens's fairytale, than the lodger clerk is most definitely her knight in shining armor. Stephens's portrayal of colonialism is obviously not a positive one, mainly because Stephens was a supporter of the Irish Socialist Movement. The Socialist Movement was a group of Irish Nationalists who tried to muster a political force against Britain to put control of the Irish government and economy back into the hands of the people and generate equality between the social classes. Given this information, it makes perfect sense that the scrappy clerk, who wins over Mary's heart, is an Irish Nationalist and member of the Socialist party. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Friel, Brian. Translations. London: Faber and Faber, 1981. 1-94.
• Stephens, James. The Charwoman's Daughter. Macmillan: A James Stephens Reader, 1962. 1- 112.

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