Dubliners | Quotes

The child narrator learns his friend Father Flynn is dying after having a third stroke, and he has heard the priest is paralyzed. He is fascinated and repelled by this condition. In his own way, the narrator is also paralyzed, standing outside Father Flynn's house with no desire to leave (in fear) or to go see the priest (look upon its deadly work). Spiritual and emotional paralysis are major issues in the collection.

The child narrator immerses himself in adventure stories, usually of American origin, but he finds the stories are not sufficient for him. He wants to escape from the rules of school and home, which limit opportunities for adventure, and begin to explore the world around him. His plan in the story is to see more of Dublin, but this statement reflects an ambition to go beyond the city at some point in his life. The quotation also informs decisions made by other characters, such as Eveline or Little Chandler, to remain in Ireland.

The child narrator's interest in Mangan's sister represents his first romantic awakening. His detailed descriptions of her appearance reflect his awareness of her physical form; his awareness is not sexual yet, but hints at that direction. The description of light falling on her gives her an ethereal quality, as if she is beyond his world and his grasp.

As Eveline makes her final decision to stay in Dublin or go with Frank, she is overcome by fear and anxiety. Her thought that Frank will metaphorically drown her reflects a fear that his life and world will overbalance her own, believing she will be unable to survive outside the familiar world—however flawed—that is her own.

After a night of drinking, talking, and gambling, Jimmy knows he will regret his losses at cards—and other follies of the night—in the morning. When Villona opens the door to the cabin of the yacht where they have been playing and announces daybreak, it signals that Jimmy will have no time for regrets. His mistakes from the night before have already seen the light of day and reality must, by necessity, set in.

Corley tells Lenehan about his attempts at "respectable" dating, taking girls out, buying them gifts and dinners, without getting anything—specifically, sex—in return. Lenehan agrees with Corley that the respectable route is for suckers, but this comment contradicts his private thoughts. On his own, Lenehan wonders if he might prefer a wife, a home, and a respectable job to his constant scamming of friends and women.

While Mrs. Mooney speaks with Mr. Doran, Polly Mooney wipes away her tears and lovingly caresses the scene of her love-making with the young man, both physically and in her reminiscences. She has no conscious sense of wrongdoing, as Mr. Doran had, or of her reputation's ruin—only a vague sense of future happiness.

When Little Chandler asks Gallaher if Paris is an immoral city, this statement is Gallaher's response. Gallaher has been to enough places to learn that every location has its vices and its flaws. The implication here is that Dublin is also immoral, though Chandler's question implies some kind of moral high ground for his home.

While Farrington beats his son for the kitchen fire being out, his son begs for mercy and offers a prayer for his father. It is an unusual moment of pathos in an otherwise relentlessly cold and oftentimes cruel collection of stories.

Joe's description of his childhood relationship with Maria indicates his affection for her, but also some situational irony. If he truly felt this way about her, he might have given her a home himself rather than put her in an institution. He also might listen more respectfully when she asks him to reconcile with his brother. It is clear that Joe, like many others in the story, does not respect Maria because of her diminutive stature and status as a fallen woman.

Early in "A Painful Case," Mr. Duffy seems to be satisfied with his solitary life. Only after he copes with the loss and death of Mrs. Sinico does he begin to understand how disconnected he is from other people. He sees couples in the park and understands he will never be like them and his chance to have that connection—with Mrs. Sinico—has been lost forever.

The campaign workers in the committee room argue over a number of points, even Parnell's fall from political life. O'Connor reminds them that Ivy Day is meant to unite all who love Ireland in commemorating Parnell, even if the details of their political views are different.

In one sentence, Mrs. Kearney shows how both sides of the argument over her daughter Kathleen's contract are wrong. Mr. Holohan engages in a cowardly attempt to dodge the awkward conversation by saying a contract he created is not his business. Mrs. Kearney responds with aggression and anger, which is equally unproductive to negotiations.

In the verse Father Purdon has chosen for his sermon, he succinctly describes the group of friends that have brought Tom Kernan to the service. They have come to Kernan based on his own iniquity, his drinking, but they are the friends who are guiding him toward salvation.

In Gabriel Conroy's thoughts he compares himself to Michael Furey, who risked death for love and died young, but he died with passion and glory rather than fade away. Gabriel, aging and feeling unsteady in his identity on this night, feels he is fading away along with everyone he loves.