Clay

Joe Donnelly is a middle-class man who lives with his wife and children across town from Maria. When he and his brother Alphy were young, Maria worked for their family as the children’s nursemaid. The affluence of Joe’s birth family is clear. The boys were cared for by a servant, and there were probably additional servants in the household. Nonetheless, “[a]fter the break-up at home the boys had got [Maria] that position in the Dublin by Lamplight laundry” (96).

Joe frequently consumes alcohol and Maria hopes that he will not arrive at the party drunk. This suggests that he often arrives at events under the influence of alcohol, and it is implied that he becomes obnoxious and belligerent when drinking. In this regard, Joe resembles Joyce’s father, who also became angry and abusive when drinking. It was not a quality that Joyce admired, and in his depiction of Joe, Joyce portrays the negative effects of alcohol.

Joe also seems to be a boastful sort, proud of the “smart answer” he reports giving to his office manager (100). Again, this suggests that Joe can be difficult to get along with. He is also estranged from his brother Alphy. When Maria suggests that the two of them should reconcile, he becomes angry and threatens to make a scene. Joe manages to calm himself down, saying “he would not lose his temper” because of it being a holiday (100). He does, however, tell his wife to open more beer, again suggesting that alcohol negatively affects his behavior.

Joe is portrayed as an unpleasant man, overbearing in manner and potentially violent. Joe, Maria’s connection to the past and to a sense of family and belonging, exemplifies the theme of The Disparity Between Desire and Reality. What should be a pleasant reunion and celebration for Maria is instead a tumultuous night with few redeeming qualities. As the story closes, not only does he force Maria to sing, he also effectually hijacks the story, teary-eyed, and in his drunken state, longs for the past.

Mrs. Donnelly is Joe’s wife and the mother of his children. She welcomes Maria the night of the party, although Maria has said previously that the reason she does not live with Joe’s family is because she does not want to get in Mrs. Donnelly’s way. It is unclear how Mrs. Donnelly’s relationship with Maria has developed over the years. She is a middle-class woman who seems to patronize and condescend to Maria. When Maria realizes that she has lost the cake she meant to bring, it is Mrs. Donnelly who says what has happened to the cake: “Mrs. Donnelly said it was plain that Maria had left it behind her on the tram” (99). This statement and others like it portray Mrs. Donnelly as no-nonsense. She attempts to assuage her husband’s anger and she scolds the neighbor girls who are cruel to Maria. Toward the end of the story, Mrs. Donnelly tells Maria that she’ll be in a convent by the end of the year. This statement is not meant as a comfort to Maria, in that it signifies her withdrawal from life at the laundry despite her finding it comfortable. It also suggests that Mrs. Donnelly sees Maria as someone whose useful life is ending. It is significant that Mrs. Donnelly never suggests that Maria should come to live with them, which would have been a solution to Maria’s dilemma. Like the others, Mrs. Donnelly makes no attempt to address Maria’s point of view or needs throughout the party sequence. Either Mrs. Donnelly doesn’t see Maria’s situation, or she doesn’t care to see it. In this way, Mrs. Donnelly contributes to Maria’s “smallness” and state of insignificance as she ages, unmarried in Protestant Dublin.

The matron of the Dublin by Lamplight laundry is a middle-class woman whom Maria describes as “nice” and “so genteel” (96). She is Protestant, and as such she is the one in charge of the Protestant laundry. Little else is known about her in the story other than Maria admires her and aspires to her gentility. The matron holds an unattainable degree of power over Maria due to her societal status, and Maria does not protest this disparity, but instead expresses contentment with her station and role under the matron.

Lizzy Fleming is one of the women who works at the laundry. Since she works at a Protestant laundry designed to employ former sex workers, and since most working-class sex workers were Catholic in early 20th-century Dublin, it is also likely that Lizzy is Catholic. She is raucous and loud, embarrassing Maria with her comment about getting the ring in the traditional Hallow Eve’s game. Maria classifies Lizzy as a “common woman” (97) in contrast to the “genteel” matron (96). Maria’s belittling of Lizzy and the other women speaks to a need for self-importance, though it is expressed indirectly and at the expense of others. Despite this desire, Maria is not of a higher status than the other workers, highlighting The Disparity Between Desire and Reality in Maria’s world.

The elderly gentleman on the tram offers Maria a seat and attempts to engage her in conversation. According to the text, “He was a stout gentleman and he wore a brown hard hat; he had a square red face and a greyish moustache. Maria thought he was a colonel-looking gentleman” (98). This implies that he is English and middle class. His red face and volubility also suggest he may be drunk. Maria’s response to him suggests that she is uncomfortable speaking with him, reflecting her aspirations to live like the English middle class. When she leaves the tram, however, Maria thinks “how easy it was to know a gentleman even when he has a drop taken” (99). Maria twists her experience speaking with a potentially drunk man on the tram into a pleasant recollection where she spoke to a “colonel-looking gentleman” who was easy to talk to, again emphasizing The Disparity Between Desire and Reality in Maria’s consciousness.