Literary Analysis: Clay by James Joyce

James Joyce

Clay is a short story with a great written style and social questioning. The characters, Catholics and also Protestants, expose more than just a social issue, but also psychological and political problems. At the first sight, the reader gets into Joyce’s style: straight and sophisticated, with an omnipotent narrator in the third-person who describes characters and actions.

Although the narrator is in the third-person, he focuses on Maria, showing her acts, thoughts and ideas through Dublin. The description of Maria is a childish narration that seems to follow a fairytale model: “Maria was a very, very small person indeed but she had a very long nose and long chin.” This description reveals much about Maria: the context in the story is Hallow Eve, and she looks like a witch with a long nose and long chin. 

Maria is also a simple woman who follows her beliefs, but does not see problems in protestant people – we must consider that she works in protestant shelter, though – Maria has an issue: she is single.

When she plays the Hallow Eve game and gets the ring, she denies her need of a husband with her eyes sparkled with disappointed shyness. The narrator also says Maria had the notions of a common woman, but her acts are imbued with childish behavior, expressing herself with shyness in front of people, trying to please others.

The case of her meeting with the gentleman with the grayish moustache on the Canal Bridge seems very strange for her. The narrator focus on the fact that none of the young men seemed to notice her, maybe because of her lack of beauty. But the man who stares at her causes a strange feeling that makes Maria forget the slice of plumcake. Because of this situation Maria gets coloured with shame and vexation and disappointment. These three feelings are issues that involve Maria’s world. Joyce explores the consciousness of Maria, exposing her sensibility and loneliness.

In fact, all these characteristics are easily noticed by the reader, who gets in her point of view and tend to feel like her in these same awkward situations. However, Maria’s social relations go beyond a straightforward act, there are many social, political and religious factors exposed through Maria.

Joyce’s context regarded political problems in Ireland, the two sides of political perspectives that at that period revealed also a religious side. Protestants and Unionist were virtually synonymous.

We can see, for example, that Maria used to have a bad opinion about Protestants but now she thought they were very nice people. The religious and political issues in Ireland are straight linked, and Maria exposes, in an indirectly way, the two sides of this social problem.

Maria, as a catholic, used to follow the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrine, reflected on her behavior. Her name, here, seems to be important: one of the main differences between Protestant Churches is the conception of Maria’s divinity, followed catholic people and denied by protestant people.

The protestant Sola Christus is the main factor of the denial of Maria as a divine figure. This denial, in Clay, seems to be the same, although Maria is accepted in the protestant shelter, for many times she is alone and she is the only adult to play Hallow Eve games with the children.

Thereby, both religions have the same effect over Maria: they determine women’s way in society. Maria, as the divine figure suggests, is a celibate and she has her sexual desired repressed by this religious social structure.

Saint Paul’s doctrine about men and women relationship is based on patriarcalism. Women cannot express desires and questioning, they are in a lower divinity level than men. In Catholic Church there is a possible different way for women, to become a nun, although they have practically no voice in the cleric. In Protestantism, the difference is that a good woman must be married. This doctrine, which is a social demand for women, is what Maria is going through, but she cannot see what her actions and behaviors are leading her.

Between two different realities, Maria faces the treats on the wall. She did not like them, but was not so important when the matter comes to how genteel the protestant were. Maria’s social issue and the denial of her desires is a problem that may be studied in a Freudian analysis.

Furthermore, this is the repression that we can see being expressed when Maria sings wrongly the story of a luxurious girl. We cannot say that there is a case of hysteria in this story, as many other literary characters have been classified by Freudian criticism, but we need pay carefully attention to this religious repression over Maria.

Maria, as a virgin, could not express her desires, but the narrator shows to the reader that this repression is the case of her problems. She acts differently in front of that gentleman and forgets the slice of plumcake. There is not a explicit content saying that Maria wants a relationship with a man, but her thoughts and behavior expose these facts to the reader, and Maria herself seems to try  to deny – or she even cannot understand  - what is going on around her.

The song she sings is I Dreamt that I Dwelt, a song of a luxurious girl that was not so happy to be restored, as the desire of Maria may not be satisfied. Her denial does not allow her to see the way she is acting, causing effects - as the forgotten slice of plumcake, in front of a gentleman – that are shown by the narrator. These events are seen in a different perspective, which make the reader get inside some kind of grieve to Maria.

The social structures that determine the women behavior is strictly linked with patriarcalism and Maria represents not only an individual facing society, but also this religious and social structure of repression that affects her. When Maria made a mistake singing, in a Freudian perspective her desires were exposed by the ego, her psique reaches her act of singing and changes the lyric, what she did not intend to do consciously. And are these events seen in a perspective that makes the reader get inside some kind of grief related to Maria.

This repression and psychological issues are linked with the social structures that determine women’s behavior and it is strictly linked with patriarcalism.  Maria represents not only an individual facing society, but also a religious and social structure of repression that affects the individual.

Therefore, Clay may not be about a social perspective, but Joyce seems to use his writing in a deeper link to society. All these issues, as patriarcalism, religious repression, women’s place are meant to be discussed in a biopolitical perspective nowadays.

Perhaps, Joyce’s political positioning had affected his style and the ideas of his works. Maria is made of clay, as a catholic saint statue would be, but she is not meant to be praised, as the catholic saint are not worth of praise to protestants. The clay may also represent the human part of a virgin, the same desire and prejudice that Virgin Mary suffered before the angel’s message reached her family. The way that Maria, not directly exposed, shows her desires, religion and political issues , all linked with people’s lives. Indeed, Maria is both a peace-maker virgin oppressed by religion and a normal woman who suffers by her frustrated desires.

Clay story builds a world where Joyce’s written style and vivid portrays of life make a new perspective to question the political and social context, creating a literary world that reflects the religious and disturbed world he was living in.

Bibliography:

FAIRHALL, James. James Joyce and The Question of History. Cambridge Press. 1993

LERN, Harry. James Joyce: Introducción crítica. Fondo de Cultura Económica. México. 1988

HENKE, Suzette A. James Joyce and The Politcs of Desire. Routledge. New York. 1990

O’BRIEN, Maire. A concise history of Ireland.  Thames and Hudson. London 1977

Literary Analysis : Miss Brill by Katharine Mansfield

At first sight Miss Brill seems to show a story about loneliness and relationship problems. However, the theatre, as described by the main character, is much more than just feelings and social problems, it goes as far as our fears and misunderstandings.

The style of this short story is straightforward, and at the same time it is extremely sophisticated. The narration is made in order to convince and get the reader into the point of view of Miss Brill.

Even though the story is narrated in the third-person, which seems to show things exactly as they are by an omnipotent narrator, we start to romanticize things while Miss Brill gives their descriptions. When we’re reading, we assume that every single thing in that park is fine but the olds on the bench, whose Miss Brill did not give any credit.

Then, suddenly, when she overhears the couple talking about how undesirable she is, all the beauty of that place is taken off of the narration, and she goes to her dark and lonely room.

This vision is directly linked with Miss Brill’s social and psychological problems. She spends her Sundays watching people, analyzing and describing their clothes and behaviors.

“Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play. […] How strange she’d never thought of it like that before! And yet it explained why she made such a point of starting from home at just the same time each week—so as not to be late for the performance—and it also explained why she had quite a queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spent her Sunday afternoons. “

She says she had quite a queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spent her Sunday afternoons. By this passage, and by the end of the story, we can assume she has a lonely life.

The loneliness seems to be the main cause of her romantic view, as a way to forget, or to mask, the reality she’s going through in life. We also see that she makes projections of herself in others, a possible desire of a relationship.

A beautiful woman came along and dropped her bunch of violets, and a little boy ran after to hand them to her, and she took them and threw them away as if they’d been poisoned. Dear me! Miss Brill didn’t know whether to admire that or not! And now an ermine toque and a gentleman in grey met just in front of her. He was tall, stiff, dignified, and she was wearing the ermine toque she’d bought when her hair was yellow. Now everything, her hair, her face, even her eyes, was the same colour as the shabby ermine, and her hand, in its cleaned glove, lifted to dab her lips, was a tiny yellowish paw. Oh, she was so pleased to see him—delighted! 

Miss Brill not only watches their talking but also makes a kind of prediction and intention, something that she would do in the place of that young woman.

Reading carefully, we will see that there are some people Miss Brill ignores: the old ones sitted on the bench.

“The old people sat on the bench, still as statues. Never mind, there was always the crowd to watch.”

Even with these old people disturbing her, she just ignored and kept watching others passers-by. On the other hand, she is in the same situation as the old people on the bench, but they are not in her view or intentions.

This projection becomes more obvious when Miss Brill start describing all the events, and even herself, as parts of a big play. The theatre, where she is an actress, and the audience as well, seems to be, with her loneliness, the main part of this short story.

If we go through an allegorical interpretation, the play described is related to a of Miss Brill’s romantic views of the world, representing life. Miss Brill describes herself as an actress, but also as the audience, these two possibilities are connected with her real situation.

Following this analogical comparison , there is also the band, which plays , in every act, a soundtrack according to her feelings. The acts happening in the play reflects on Miss Brill’s feelings and in what the humor and style of the band.

“There were a number of people out this afternoon, far more than last Sunday. And the band sounded louder and gayer. That was because the Season had begun. For although the band played all the year round on Sundays, out of season it was never the same.” 

The Miss Brill’s play resembles either the ancient greek theatre, with a choir representing the feelings of the audience, either in tragedy or comedy. Similarly, the narration looks like a comedy, imbued with happiness and good feelings, but it suddenly ends up as tragedy, when Miss Brill does what she’s used to, overhearing people, a kind of hamartia, which leads her to loneliness again.

Either visions, the allegorical or the comparison with the theatre, build two main opposite views: real versus unreal. Although her representation is lifelike, it’s only an imitation and projection, of what Miss Brill thinks is real.

It’s certainly true that some people may read this short story using an   allegorical view, but there is more than just a simple allegory. Moreover, the theatre as a Miss Brill’s fantasy to forget her own situation and make a lifelike projection, seems to be a better interpretation than just an allegory.

The allegory has the effect of making us  forget that this story could also be a representation of Katharine Mensfield’s life. Perhaps we are going too far, but it is important to remember that Katharine had relationship issues, which could be a theme for her writing.

Indeed, Miss Brill is not only a representation of Katharine, but of all human beings as well. The play as described by Miss Brill is all about living in society. The act of people and its results, things we all have to face.

The problems Miss Brill faces are also every one’s problems: fear, rejection, loneliness.

The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.

When she puts the lid on the box, there is another representation of an exclusion. What she hears crying seem to suffer of the same thing she is going through, the crying may be something from the subconscious of Miss Brill, but also from what she closed in the box.

Whether it is her or not, this short story is meant to represent social issues and fantasies we face, and how our fantasies may fall apart.

Bibliography

ISER, Wolfgang. The act of reading: A theory of aesthetic response. The Jonhs Hopkins University Press. 1991

MENSFIELD, Katharine. Miss Brill. In THE GARDEN PARTY AND OTHER STORIES.  Link: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-ManGard-t1-g1-t9.html

Katharine Mensfield Society. 1888 – 1923  (http://www.katherinemansfield.com/mansfield/)