The Theme of Isolation in The Dead by James Joyce

Categories: The Dead

Essay, Pages 8 (1993 words)

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Snow falls gently on the windowsill, and as the dancing fire generates waves of heat, the quaint room fills with warmth. The window seems to separate these two worlds, the harsh winter night and the radiant living room, but they share a certain bond that begs the opposing force to compliment the other. The cozy aura created in the home would surely not be the same if not for the grey December snow. This could be appreciated as a touching depiction of a cozy winter night, but what makes it so pretty? Many would say the peaceful room, and others would say a combination of the living room emphasized by the snow outside.

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Many phenomena appear beautiful, and when there is an attempt to unpack it or dig deeper, one finds a more depressing reality hidden within.

In James Joyce's "The Dead," the common theme of isolation constantly arises, and although this is one of Joyce's more hopeful stories in Dubliners, there is a disconnect that remains, masked in his lyrical writing and wonderful depictions of the peaceful winter night.

Gabriel, like many of the other guests at the party, struggle to connect with one another, and snow provides a mode in which Joyce depicts this constant tension of isolation and togetherness. Joyce no doubt depicts snow as beautiful, and although the lyrical prose in which it is embedded generates a flowing story of epiphany, the unpacked content demonstrates the isolation that it truly symbolizes. The lyrical prose Joyce uses within the final story of Dubliners is beautiful, especially the way in which he takes the aspects of snow and uses them to depict the sensation of a winter's night in Ireland.

When Gabriel enters the home, "he continued scarping his feet vigorously...A light fringe of snow lay like a cape on the shoulders of his overcoat and like toecaps on the toes of his galoshes; and, as the buttons of his overcoat slipped with a squeaking noise through the snow-stiffened frieze, a cold, fragrant air from out-of-doors escaped from crevices and folds” (2284). Joyce demonstrates how something so cold can be beautiful at the same time. As the ladies “went upstairs, laughing” (22884), the jovial tone is lyrical and it adds to the easiness of the situation. There seem to be little worries as the reader speeds through the flowing lyrics. Snow shows up a couple of times in the passage as “a light fringe of snow” and how it “lay like a cape” (2284).

Snow seems to be pleasant in this sense because of the way in which is described so gently, and it provokes calm emotion. The entire passage is almost songlike, telling a story of how people are running inside to a cozy home in order to get away from the snow that nearly "escapes" (2284) through the cracks. There is a sense of relief once they come into a warm embrace, “scraping” (2284) off the lingering snow. Although the beautiful lyrics of the previous passage promote a positive connotation of snow and the outdoors, there is an irony between the language and the real meaning. At first glance, like the analysis states in the previous paragraph, the passage flows as Joyce provides detailed depictions of people escaping the outdoors. B

ut the content of the actual text has some negative meanings and is be glazed over by the reader because of the linguistic style. Words appear such as “squeaking” and “escaped” (2284) to describe the cold outside trying to sneak in to the house in a surreal way, but also an eerie way. The words choice provides the ability to appreciate the beauty of the snow in general, but looking at the content closely there is clearly some uncertainty about the “squeaking" cold. The cold atmosphere from the outdoors is also described as “snow-stiffened frieze, a cold fragrant air” (2284). These lyrics sound appealing, but they also instill a sense of isolation and harsh discomfort. From a peaceful and almost playful aspect of winter, to a harsher undertone, the "cold, fragrant" (2284) shows that although snow is a beautiful characteristic of winter appreciated for its tranquility, it also symbolizes the harsh reality of restraining, suffocating, and isolating life present throughout Ireland, especially for Gabriel. The ceaseless prose Joyce carries on sets the stage for this “cover-up” of reality.

We see that the language at first appears almost poetic similar to the immediate thought of snow, but after doing a little bit of unpacking, analyzing the content of the actual passage, the language is used to mask or sugarcoat a more serious and depressing matter of isolation. There is a constant tension between the idea of snow and its lyrical beauty and the actual negative connotation the content points towards, and Gabriel's thoughts involving snow and the outdoors help bring this struggle to light. As Gabriel stands by the window, imagining what it would be like to abort his speech he will have to give shortly and frolic outside by himself, he wonders "how cool it must be outside! How pleasant it would be to walk out alone, first along by the river and then through the park! The snow would be lying on the branches of the trees and forming a bright cap on the top of the Wellington monument. How much more pleasant it would be there than at the supper-table!” (2293)

Gabriel immensely wishes that he was outside, alone, instead of being indoors giving his speech, something that is extremely intimate and humanely connective. Joyce emphasizes the eagerness to step out and become part of the beautiful snow when Gabriel thinks of how "pleasant" (2292) it would be in the beginning and end of the passage. Joyce repeats the word pleasant in this case to once again show Gabriel's desire to step out into the beautiful winter's night. The dramatic irony is present in the sense that if Gabriel were able to escape his situation and walk “first along by the river” (2292) walking amongst the winter beauty, he would be separating himself from the rest of the party, in turn, isolating himself even further. This passage is complicated, because like the rest of the story, the appealing literary structure masks the depressing issue at hand, as the reader is not fully able to comprehend the severe disconnect Gabriel faces and the genuine desire to be apart from the rest of the party.

The passage depicts the attractive idea of taking a peaceful walk “along by the river and then through the park” (2292) but this appealing passage regarding the content shows the present isolating nature of snow, suffocating any hope of coming together as a community. Snow proves to be an isolating phenomenon, and there is a tension between the fragile togetherness it forces in a connective sense and the way in which it further emphasizes people's disconnection. Snow brings people together in a sense. The roads close down, it's too cold to be outside, and freedom to separate yourself nearly disappears. Because of snow, people usually end up in one place together, and although being in the same place is physical connection, Joyce captures the inability of the characters to make human connection in a lyrical scene: "It's the weather,” said Aunt Julia, after a pause. “Yes, everybody has cold,” said Aunt Kate readily, “everybody.” “They say," said Mary Jane, "we haven't had snow like it for thirty years, and I read this morning in the newspapers that snow is general all over Ireland.” "I love the look of snow,” said Aunt Julia sadly. “So do I,” said Miss O’Callaghan. “I think Christmas is never really Christmas unless we have the snow on the ground.” “But poor Mr. D'Arcy doesn't like the snow,” said Aunt Kate, smiling. (2304)

There seem to be many conflicting views about the snow in the dialogue as the back and forth structure of different opinions and uncertainty shows that “everybody” (2304), as Aunt Kate stresses, is affected by the snow, and even though they are connected, the way in which it happens is negative. Even though snow may be keeping them together, there is still a human disconnect shown in the dialogue. Aunt Kate mentions how "everybody” (2304) caught colds because of the weather, which is ironic because the thing that is connecting all of them is a sickness. The idea that everyone is affected by the cold could also mean that everyone comes to terms with isolation, even in a seemingly comfortable family setting like the current place of dialogue.

Aunt Julia later responds "I love the look of the snow,' said Aunt Julia sadly" (2304). She says this "sadly" because Joyce wants us to realize that even though snow is a beautiful thing, bringing people together in the same space, there is still a disconnect in everyone present even if there is a common connection. Everyone is together in the same living space, supposedly enjoying a night of friends and family, largely depicted in a positive lyrical way, but the tension of being together is clearly far from harmonious. The ultimate irony throughout Gabriel's epiphany is that he learns how to feel the togetherness or the hospitality he referred to in his speech, but in order to find these things he must first come to terms with mortality. Joyce beautifully describes Gabriel's transcendence as “his soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of the last end, upon all the living and the dead” (2311).

Again, we see the lyrical quality of the prose, as this one sentence is a part of whole passage usually regarded as the most astonishing piece in the history of British literature. The passage instills a feeling of peace, as Gabriel's soul “swooned slowly” (2310) as he looks out and hears the snow “faintly” (2310) falling. Joyce even rhymes the last line, pairing “the last end” (2310) with "the living and the dead” (2310). These techniques, whether it be imagery or rhyming, flow easily and roll off the tongue, and although it is wonderfully crafted, Gabriel is coming to the realization that he, along with everyone else, is dying. Everyone in Ireland shares at least this one connection as “The living and the dead” (2310) are all touched by the gently falling snow. It is a disconcerting and ironic reality that the people of Ireland face, and Joyce is able to get the depressing reality across to the reader by using a pretty picture that lyrically flows off the page. Too much language obscures the meaning of what the author writes.

In George Orwell's “Politics and the English Language,” he stresses that saying things in the wrong way, whether it be an author or a politician searching for an office of power, is extremely dangerous. Orwell claims that abstracting the words in which you are trying to convey ultimately takes the meaning out of them (Orwell 2610-2619). Language does indeed need to be attached to meaning, but what if a piece of work created a mask to instill a fragment of hope in an isolated nation? This is where Joyce could be an exception to Orwell's rule of obscuring text, because Joyce is not trying to cover anything up. He is not trying to blatantly hide anything.

What he is doing is providing a way in which people can come to terms with reality without reading the depressing and harsh words that may be better suited for saying it like it is. Joyce stresses throughout “The Dead” that there is an extreme tension between connectedness and isolation, and by lyrically telling this story, he is able to emphasize the issue keeping Irishmen in isolation.

Works Cited

Ramazani, Jahan, Stallworthy, Jon. "The Dead." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Twentieth Century and After. 9th ed. Vol. F. New York: Norton, 2012. 2282 310. Print.
Ramazani, Jahan, Stallworthy, Jon. "Politics and the English Language." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Twentieth Century and After. 9th ed. Vol. F. New York: Norton, 2012. 2610-2619. Print.