Dubliners - "A Little Cloud" (Story 8 of 15)

[Chris OConnor]

Dubliners - "A Little Cloud" (Story 8 of 15)

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak, and a search for a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted by various converging ideas and influences.

[DWill]

It occurred to me that the world-famous verbal skills of the Irish might at least be something for Joyce to celebrate. Can't take that away from the Irish, right? But the two chaps here can't rise above the vulgar and derivative. Little Chandler fantasizes about about joining a nativist poetic movement, and Joyce mocks both the movement and Chandler's belief that he could contribute to it with a distinctive brand of melancholy. He's a wannabe wishing for an escape from a life that he knows lacks panache, especially compared to that of his old companion, Gallagher. Gallagher himself has achieved fame of sorts, but has had to go to the English to do it, and appears to be employed by what we would call the tabloid press.

The theme of paralysis is evident in the story in Chandler's inability to embrace life. That seems to be the issue, rather than Joyce implying there is something wrong with having an ordinary life like Chandler's. Chandler feels that what he has is inferior to those who have broken away, like Gallagher. Irish inferiority is part of the disease that Joyce probes.

This story and the next, "Counterparts," seem to make a particularly close pair.