Notes of March 21st 2012

The main characters of The Dead are Gabriel and his wife Gretta. The two married even if Gabriel's mother did not agree his son's decision; indeed he thought that Gretta wasn't good enough to become Gabriel's wife. She considers her inferior, especially from a social position point of view, according to the fact that Gretta came from the country, from Galway.

The short story develops in an annual party , organized by Gabriel's aunts, that are unmarried and particularly interested in music. People who attend the party are some students of the school music directed by Gabriel's aunts, some family friends, Gabriel and Gretta.

The short story could be divided into three parts.
The first one is the arrival of the guests. Everybody is waiting for Gabriel and his wife. Gabriel is considered a relevant person in the party, but right from the start he made a mistake, asking Lily about her sentimental life. When he arrived he was wearing galoshes and he was angry because his wife did not. These pieces of information made the readers able to understand that he wants to be trendy and that his wife is not a conventional wife or women: she does not obey him, she is not subdued .
In this part there are two different settings: the outside setting, which is a cold one and the inner setting, inside the house, where it is warm and where there is an happy atmosphere.
Right from the start the writer makes some strong references to ritual and tradition: every year the same things happen, and he shows a certain ambiguity on Gabriel ( there are some hidden elements that will come on the surface).

The second part is about the party and the dinner. One of the most interesting characters of this sequence is Miss Ivors. She speaks with Gabriel and she takes distances from his idea of Ireland. Gabriel would like to live the island, while Miss Ivors is a nationalist. ( with reference to the political question of Ireland).
After dancing the dinner starts; it may be connected to the Last Supper and to the Christian Eucaristia. In the dinner Gabriel plays the role of the priest. Indeed, he had to hold a speech. The main worry of Gabriel is to keep some quotations; finally, he changed his mind because he considers people attending the party unable to follow is extended field of knowledge.