"The Dead" is the final short story in the 1914 collection ''

Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...

'' by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

. It is by far the longest story in the collection and, at 15,952 words, is almost long enough to be described as a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

. The story deals with themes of love and loss, as well as raising questions about the nature of the Irish identity. The story was well-received by critics and academics and described by

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

as one of the greatest English-language short stories ever written. It was later adapted into a one-act play by

Hugh Leonard Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiograph ...

and into the 1987 film '' The Dead'' written by

Tony Huston Walter Anthony Huston (born April 16, 1950) is an American actor, writer, and assistant director. Biography Born April 16, 1950 in Los Angeles County, California, the son of director John Huston, and his fourth wife Enrica Soma. At birth, was nam ...

and directed by

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

Characters

* Gabriel Conroy – the main character of the story. * Kate Morkan and Julia Morkan – Gabriel and Mary Jane's aunts. They are elderly sisters who throw a party every year during Christmas time. * Mary Jane Morkan – niece of Kate and Julia Morkan. * Lily – the caretaker's daughter. * Gretta Conroy – Gabriel's wife. * Molly Ivors – a long-time acquaintance of the family * Mr Browne – only Protestant guest at the party. * Freddy Malins – an alcoholic and friend of the family. * Mrs Malins – Freddy Malins' mother. * Bartell D'Arcy – a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

. Gabriel Conroy, Gretta Conroy, Kate and Julia Morkan, and Bartell d'Arcy are all alluded to in James Joyce's later work, ''Ulysses'', though no character from "The Dead" makes a direct appearance in the novel.

Plot summary

The story centres on Gabriel Conroy, a teacher and part-time book reviewer, and explores the relationships he has with his family and friends. Gabriel and his wife, Gretta, arrive late to an annual Christmastime party (in fact, it is Twelfth Night) hosted by his aunts, Kate and Julia Morkan, who eagerly receive him. After an awkward encounter with Lily, the caretaker's daughter, Gabriel goes upstairs, and joins the rest of the party attendees. Gabriel worries about the speech he has to give, especially because it contains academic references, which he fears his audience will not understand. When Freddy Malins arrives drunk, as the hosts of the party had feared, Aunt Kate asks Gabriel to make sure he is all right. As the party moves on, Gabriel is confronted by Miss Ivors, an Irish nationalist, about his publishing a weekly literary column in the Unionist newspaper ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

''. She teases him by calling him a "

West Brit West Brit, an abbreviation of West Briton, is a derogatory term for an Irish person who is perceived as Anglophilic in matters of culture or politics. West Britain is a description of Ireland emphasising it as subject to British influence. H ...

on". Gabriel points out that he gets 15 shillings a week, and "the books he received for review were almost more welcome than the paltry

cheque A cheque (or check in American English) is a document that orders a bank, building society, or credit union, to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing ...

". He thinks this charge is highly unfair, but fails to offer a satisfactory rejoinder. The encounter ends awkwardly, which bothers Gabriel the rest of the night. He becomes more disaffected, when he tells his wife of the encounter, and she expresses an interest in returning to visit her childhood home of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. The music and party continue; but Gabriel retreats into himself, thinking of the snow outside and his impending speech. Dinner begins, with Gabriel seated at the head of the table. The guests discuss music and the practices of certain monks. Once the dining has died down, Gabriel thinks once more about the snow - and begins his speech, praising traditional Irish hospitality, observing that "we are living in a sceptical...thought-tormented age," and referring to Aunt Kate, Aunt Julia, and Mary Jane as the Three Graces. The speech ends with a toast, and the guests sing " For they are jolly gay fellows". As the party winds down, the guests filter out, and Gabriel prepares to leave. He finds his wife standing, apparently lost in thought, at the top of the stairs. In another room Bartell D'Arcy sings " The Lass of Aughrim". The Conroys leave; and Gabriel is excited, for it has been a long time since he and Gretta have had a night in a hotel to themselves. When they arrive at the hotel, Gabriel's aspirations of passionate lovemaking are conclusively dashed by Gretta's lack of interest. He presses her about what is bothering her, and she admits that she is "thinking about that song, ''The Lass of Aughrim''". She admits that it reminds her of someone, a young man named Michael Furey, who had courted her in her youth in Galway. He used to sing "The Lass of Aughrim" for her. Furey died at seventeen, early in their relationship; and she had been very much in love with him. She believes that it was his insistence on coming to meet her in the winter and the rain, while already sick, that killed him. After telling these things to Gabriel, Gretta becomes overpowered with emotion, heaving great sobs as she lies down on the bed, falling asleep crying. At first, Gabriel is shocked and dismayed that there was something of such significance in his wife's life that he never knew about. He ponders the role of the countless dead in living people's lives, and observes that everyone he knows, himself included, will one day only be a memory. He finds in this fact a profound affirmation of life. Gabriel stands at the window, watching the snow fall; and the narrative expands past him, edging into the surreal, and encompassing the entirety of Ireland. As the story ends, we are told that "His soul swooned slowly, as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe, and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead".

Critique and analysis

called "The Dead" one of the greatest short stories ever written in English. Joyce biographer and critic

Richard Ellmann Richard David Ellmann, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (March 15, 1918 – May 13, 1987) was an American Literary criticism, literary critic and biographer of the Irish writers James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and W. B. Yeats, William Butler Yeats. ...

wrote: "In its lyrical, melancholy acceptance of all that life and death offer, 'The Dead' is a linchpin in Joyce's work".

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Joyce scholar Daniel R. Schwarz described it as "that magnificent short novel of tenderness and passion but also of disappointed love and frustrated personal and career expectations". On the centennial of the release of ''

'', Dan Barry of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called "The Dead" "just about the finest short story in the English language". This story offers a critique of a society that has been gripped by a deadening paralysis of the spirit, while also offering a juxtaposed,

memento mori (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")

vision of the enlivening effect that may be found when the living contemplate the lives of those who have died. It has been suggested that the fictional character Gretta Conroy was inspired by Nora Barnacle, and that the fictional Michael Furey may have been partly inspired by Nora's memories of her own romantic relationships with two friends, Michael (Sonny) Bodkin and Michael Feeney, who both died in their teens. Gabriel Conroy's name is borrowed from the novel ''Gabriel Conroy'' by

Bret Harte Bret Harte ( , born Francis Brett Hart, August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

, and Joyce's use of rhythm in the story reflects Harte's influence. Conroy's biography overlaps with Joyce's own; for example, he writes for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', which Joyce himself also wrote for.

Stanislaus Joyce John Stanislaus Joyce (17 December 1884 – 16 June 1955) was an Irish teacher, scholar, diarist and writer who lived for many years in Trieste. He was the younger brother of James Joyce. He was generally known as Stanislaus Joyce to distinguish ...

, James Joyce's brother, interpreted Conroy as a hybrid of James Joyce and their father, John Stanislaus Joyce. "The Dead" is "set on 6 January 1904, only five months before the date of ''Ulysses''". The party described in the story is a celebration of

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

, or

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

Adaptations

"The Dead" was adapted as a one-act play of the same name by

in 1967.

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

's 1973 story, "The Dead", makes many allusions to Joyce's story. In 1987, it was adapted into the film '' The Dead'' directed by

, starring

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and model. She is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the ''The Addams Family'' and '' The Addams Family Values'', as well as often portraying eccentric and distincti ...

as Gretta Conroy and

Donal McCann Donal McCann (7 May 1943 – 17 July 1999) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor best known for his roles in the works of Brian Friel and for his lead role in John Huston's last film, '' The Dead'' (1987). In 2020, McCann was listed ...

as Gabriel Conroy. In 1990, the story was used as the core narrative for season 4, episode 10 of ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust a ...

'' titled "Happy New Year". It is referenced in the 1995 ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

" Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest", when Ted quotes from the end of the story on the night before Father Jack's funeral, as it begins to snow. In 1999, it was adapted into a

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...

by Richard Nelson and

Shaun Davey Shaun Davey (born 18 January 1948) is an Irish composer. Early years Shaun Davey was born in Belfast in 1948 and attended Rockport School in County Down. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in the history of Art in 1971. He then took a ...

. The original production starred

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

as Gabriel Conroy and won a

Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...

. In 2012, playwright

Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', '' Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', '' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and '' Dolly West's Kitche ...

's two-act dramatic adaptation premiered at Dublin's

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

, the National Theatre of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, in a production starring Stanley Townsend as Gabriel and Derbhle Crotty as Gretta. In 2019, the story was adapted into a Bengali film named '' Basu Poribar'', starring

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...

and

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (; ) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards East ...

. In 2024, the story is at the center of the

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

film '' The Room Next Door''. It is extensively referenced; and in one scene, a terminal cancer patient, aware of her coming end, reads out verbatim the last lines of "The Dead" describing the snow falling on Ireland. In the film's final scene the patient's friend, played by

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...

, mourns her death by paraphrasing the same lines to refer to the snow falling on the house in upper New York State where her friend died.

References

External links