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Logan Willits
Professor Lipscomb
22nd February 2015
Snow and Sunshine as a lens into the souls of characters in Joyce’s Dubliners
In his essay, Robert Scholes provides an intuitive link between the title
“Counterparts” and how Joyce arranges themes in Dubliners. He argues that Joyce
sets up the themes in Dubliners to act as counterparts for one another, which
Scholes envisions is almost like the “anonymous interchangeability of cogs in a great
machine” (Scholes, 339). Scholes further claims that these counterparts function as
the fabric of the stories, interconnecting the important themes and motifs, such as
financial stagnation and spiritual paralysis.
While Scholes does cover most of the main ideas of Dubliners, such as
stagnation and paralysis, the strength of his analysis could be expanded by
addressing the symbolical importance of weather. Weather, both figurative and
literal, is used quite frequently within Joyce’s stories and acts as a lens to peer into
the inner emotions of different characters in Dubliners. It is employed by Joyce to
document his characters’ progression of emotions and eventual collapse into
turmoil. Because weather functions as a symbol for the eventual paralysis that
envelops Joyce’s characters, it takes on the role of a counterpart to the characters’
attempt to undertake change. Although weather appears in every story, it is most
apparent in the stories, “Eveline,” “A Little Cloud,” and The Dead.” These stories best
exemplify how weather not only acts as a lens but also a counterpart to Joyce’s
characters.
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In “Eveline,” Joyce’s description of the physical weather corresponds to
Eveline’s mood. The story begins with Eveline watching the evening “invade” her
avenue (Joyce, 36). This use of the word invade suggests a feeling of being rushed
and exacerbated. Eveline cannot decide if she should leave with her fiancé, and the
invasion of the evening reminds her that she does not have much time left. Without
this initial description of weather, readers would initially be blind to the mood that
Eveline is in. Other then her statement later that she is tired, Eveline reveals little
about how she feels when she is pondering running away to Buenos Aires.
Therefore, the setting around her grows in importance because it gives a glimpse to
the inner-turmoil that Eveline is experiencing.
Before Eveline heads to the docks, she comes to the conclusion that “she has
a right to happiness” and the only possible way to potentially be happy is to go to
Buenos Aires (40). However, when Eveline attempts to leave Dublin for Buenos
Aires with Frank, her inner-storm of emotions paralyzes her and threatens to drown
her. As she grips onto the railing, it felt like “all the seas of the world tumbled about
her heart” (41). In this moment the reader becomes perfectly aware of the turmoil
within Eveline. The image of inner-weather causes the reader to be able to envision
the immense torture that Eveline is enduring. Only through the use of weather can
Joyce effectively portray the extent of Eveline’s turmoil.
This turmoil causes her to sends out a “cry of anguish” because she knows
that she cannot fight the storm. The thought of Eveline screaming creates the image
of a lost life raft in a storm where a person can yell but their voice is drowned out
and cannot be heard. Eveline is lost in the tumultuous seas that envelope her heart.
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Therefore, despite experiencing an untold amount of emotion, she is forced to
become expressionless, only looking passively as her only chance for happiness
floats away. Without this image of figurative weather the reader would not be able
to fully comprehend Eveline’s inner-turmoil. Therefore, in this instance weather
acts as clear counterpart to the emotions that Eveline is experiencing.
While Little Chandler does not experience the same type of physical paralysis
in “A Little Cloud,” his inner-turmoil is also symbolized by the use of weather
imagery. In this story, Little Chandler constantly contemplates escaping his sad life
and potentially becoming a poet. He is jealous of his old friend Gallaher who was
able to leave Dublin and now seems to be experiencing life. While walking down
the street, Little Chandler repeatedly remarks about the “glow of a late autumn
sunset” which casts “a shower of kindly golden dust” onto the street (71). These
comments about the sunset take place while Little Chandler is considering a new life
as a poet. The golden sunset suggests a glimmer of hope and aspiration that exists
within Little Chandler’s heart. However, this golden light is cast onto “the untidy
nurses and decrepit old men,” creating a scene of opposites: the beauty of the sun’s
rays versus the ugliness of the city (71). Thus, while Little Chandler does experience
moments of joy, he also feels bouts of pessimism about his future. By creating the
image of the sunset upon the city, Joyce is allowing the reader to peer into the
feelings of Little Chandler and his inner turmoil over the future.
While talking to Gallaher, Little Chandler feels a rush of certainty, believing
that he surely “could do something better than his friend had ever done” (Joyce, 80).
This certainty collapses in the last scene when Little Chandler realizes that he is
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stuck forever in his current life. While there is no specific mention of weather in this
climatic moment, it appears in the title of the story. “A little Cloud” creates a
cartoon-like image of a man with a cloud constantly over his head. This image
works perfectly to describe the life of Little Chandler, because he wants to create a
new and happy life but he cannot escape from the issues and monotony of his
current life. He succumbs to this realization that he is “a prisoner for life” (Joyce,
84). He will never be able to break free from the cloud that hangs over him.
Therefore, just like Eveline, Little Chandler experiences a physical paralysis, which
is embodied through Joyce’s use of weather.
Joyce’s Dubliners culminates with the story, “The Dead,” which begins with
Gabriel walking inside and brushing the snow off of himself. This layer of snow is
restrictive, being described as a “cape” and creating a “snow-stiffened frieze” over
Gabriel’s body (177). This image of snow impairing Gabriel’s movement shines a
light on a Gabriel’s constantly changing attitude. Throughout the story Gabriel
attempts to be happy; In spite of his efforts, Gabriel constantly reverts back to a
somber and melancholy mood. Thus, the image of snow acts as a physical symbol for
the inability of Gabriel to escape his somber and melancholy attitude. While his
personality is not evident this early in the story, Joyce gives the reader a glimpse at
what is to come.
Weather reappears in the concluding scene, allowing the reader to once
again gaze into the conflict that exists within Gabriel. Up until the final scene
Gabriel is firm in his belief that one must separate themself from the past in order to
be happy. This resolute stance begins to weaken after he hears the story of Michael
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Furey. While pondering the idea of past and present, Gabriel looks out the window
and sees that snow is “falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless
hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward” (223). This listing
of all the places in Ireland creates a unifying effect, showing that everything is
interconnected; everything is bound together by a blanket of snow. The snow
descends upon the grave of Michael Furey as well as the hotel where he is staying,
thus breaching the gap between the past and the present. By tying everything
together, the snow symbolizes Gabriel’s inner-realization that one cannot separate
themself from the past. Therefore, in this moment Gabriel becomes paralyzed like
every other character in the Dubliners. The snow allows the reader to realize that
this paralysis has descended upon Gabriel, just like the snow descends upon Ireland.
These three texts demonstrate how weather is used as a lens in Dubliners to
allow the reader to glimpse into the inner emotions and turmoil of his character.
Because Joyce uses weather in this way, it takes the function of a counterpart to the
theme of turmoil. However, the significance of weather is not confined to this one
role. Rather it is also an element in Scholes’s concluding idea that the structure of
counterparts can be taken beyond the stories themselves. Scholes resolves that by
leaving things up to the interpretation of the reader, we, the readers, become Joyce’s
counterpart. Therefore, since weather is a way to help the reader gaze into the
inner feelings and turmoil of Joyce’s characters, it acts as a counterpart to the
reader’s interpretations.
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Work Cited
Joyce, James, Robert E. Scholes, and A. Walton. Litz. Dubliners: Text, Criticism, and
Notes. New York: Penguin, 1976. Print.