Script:
Snow and Death in “The Dead” by James Joyce
“The Dead” by James Joyce follows the mundane journey of an Irish man named Gabriel. In “The Dead,” set in the early 1900s, Gabriel attends, with his wife Gretta, a dinner party hosted by his two aunts. At the party, Gabriel takes on the role of the man of the family, completing many traditional masculine tasks like carving the goose and giving the toast at dinner. His position as a strong, confident role model for the family is quickly clear. However, this role is soon challenged as a colleague of his, Miss Ivors, confronts him about his national identity, accusing him of abandoning his Irish nationality by writing book reviews for an English paper. She tells him she is just joking, but the accusation sticks with Gabriel as the night goes on. Later in the evening, a party guest sings a song which prompts Gretta to begin acting quiet and strange. Gabriel and Gretta leave, and upon arriving back home, Gretta confesses that the song reminded her of a lover from her youth who effectively gave his life for her. In reaction to this, Gabriel begins to wonder whether his decision to live a conservative life was worth it, or whether he wasted his life away and prevented himself from experiencing the passion of humanity. In “The Dead”, Joyce explores the dichotomy of life and death through the presence of the symbol of snow. This plot device allows one to consider the debate of whether one should live life with a mindset of control and hesitancy, or one with risk and passion.
The foil of life and death is most present in the finale of the story, and it comes mainly from the symbolism of winter’s snow. The snow, visualized in Gabriel’s head, is described to be covering two broader places relating to the two sources of conflict in the story: Ireland, representing Gabriel’s shaky relationship with his country, and a graveyard, representing Gabriel’s relationship with his wife. When “The Dead” was written in 1907, Ireland had been, for decades, undergoing a cultural revolution, with the island separating itself culturally from Britain, beginning to celebrate traditional Irish culture much more strongly. Gabriel, however, does not seem to subscribe to this movement. During his confrontation with Miss Ivors, it is revealed that Gabriel is, “sick of my own country, sick of it!” (Joyce 243), and that “Irish is not my language” (Joyce 242). It is generally clear that Gabriel, despite being an Irishman, does not have the same connection to his culture as many others do. The covering of the Irish countryside with snow, is in this case, is representative of the death of Gabriel’s relationship with his culture.
The other way snow explores the conflict of “The Dead” is in its connection to Michael Furey and his death. Michael Furey was Gretta’s former lover, who, when she was a teen, displayed passion and devotion so intense that he chose death over being separated from Gretta. His existence, and relationship to his wife, were revealed to Gabriel later in the story. This discovery led Gabriel to reflect on the role he held in Gretta’s life and the lack of passion he had exhibited, saying “how poor a part I’ve played in your life. It’s almost as though I’m not your husband her husband” (Joyce 286). When Gabriel imagines the snow falling upon Michael Furey’s grave, he is imagining how Furey’s death also proved to be the death of passion in his wife’s life, as she gave up her pursuit of passionate love when she chose to be with him.
The snow here represents the death of two major pieces of Gabriel’s identity: his nationality and the role he thought he played in his wife’s life. Further, it is the death of these two parts of himself that leads Gabriel to, at the end of the story, question whether him being alive even matters. First, he acknowledges the impact that Michael Furey had on his wife and her view on romance, realizing that despite his decades-past death, Furey proved to be more influential on Gretta’s perception of love than Gabriel could ever be, despite being alive. Gabriel further recognizes that his apathy towards his Irish nationality is another example of his lack of passion resulting in his life having less meaning. While the snow, and death, fall upon Michael Furey and Ireland as a whole, and Gabriel, lie inside, alive, and free from snow, it is the question of which has more of an impact on the world that Gabriel continues to ponder.
Gabriel continues to reflect on this question, saying, “One by one, we’re all becoming shades. Better to pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age” (Joyce 287). Initially, it seems that Gabriel is coming to a consensus on his question. However, it is important to note that even at the conclusion of the story, there is no way to tell whether he acts upon this realization at all. Some argue that Gabriel is so paralyzed by his lack of passion that he believes it is too late to have an impact. However, there is also an argument to be made that this moment of revelation is simply a result of Gabriel’s personal circumstances and can be seen as a product of human nature. The common adage “the grass is always greener on the other side” comes to mind: how would we see this scenario differently if it were explored from the perspective of Michael Furey’s spirit? It is quite likely that he would be experiencing a similar regret to Gabriel, except he would be regretful that he sacrificed his life for a relationship at such a young age, and that he could have found love, happiness, and stability if he had just been more controlled and hesitant.
This entire story can be interpreted as Gabriel’s confrontation with this debate. His lack of action at the conclusion of the story can also be seen as him coming to peace with his circumstances, being grateful for what he has, and acknowledging that one does not need to die like a martyr or be a patriot to be satisfied with how one’s life turned out. With this, Joyce indicates that there is no right way to live. “The Dead” leaves the reader to wonder whether they are happy with their path in life, regardless of whether they chose to live loudly with passion or quietly with caution. At the end of the day, there is no right answer to this question; one can only decide for themselves whether the direction they are going in life is the right one.
Bibliography:
Basilica, Allie. “The Grass Is Always Greener… but Is It Really?” Atrium, 14 Dec. 2021, https://www.atriumstaff.com/the-grass-is-always-greener-but-is-it-really/.
“The Dead.” Vestron Pictures, 1987.
Joyce, James. “Dubliners by James Joyce – First Edition – 1916 – from Burnside Rare Books, ABAA (SKU: 140940404).” Biblio.com, B. W. Huebsch, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.biblio.com/book/dubliners-joyce-james/d/1357488284.
Joyce, James. “The Dead.” Dubliners. New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1917, pp. 224-288. Wikisource, the Free Online Library, 31 Dec. 2020, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dubliners/The_Dead.
Pixabay.com, for free and fair reuse
Stoddard, John L. “O’Connell Street about 1900.” Wikipedia, 27 Jan. 2013, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:O’Connell_Street_about_1900.jpg.