The party that is described during this great short
story--perhaps one of Joyce's best--details the opinions of the assembled masses
concerning a number of different issues. However, if you are looking for politics, you
need go no further than the conversation Gabriel has with Miss Ivors concerning the fact
that he writes for The Daily Express, a newspaper opposed to Irish
liberation. This was of course a massive issue of the time and Gabriel wants to give
some kind of "grandiose response" to Miss Ivors but is unable
to.
Concerning art, when Gabriel wanders to the wall above
the piano he comments on the paintings that he sees
there:
A
picture of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet hung there and
beside it was a picture of the two murdered princes in the Tower which Aunt Julia had
worked in red, blue and brown wools when she was a little
girl.
Lastly, if you are
looking for references to religion, consider Aunt Kate's reference to the Pope and his
decision to dispose of the women in the choirs in
Rome:
-I know
all about the honour of God, Mary Jane, but I think it's not at all honourable for the
pope to turn out the women out of the choirs that have slaved there all their lives and
put little whipper-snappers of boys over their heads. I suppose it is for the
good of the Church if the pope does it. But it's not just, Mary Jane, and it's not
right.
So, these are just
some of the references to religion, art and politics in this excellent short story. You
might want to go and re-read it now to see if you can identify any more references. Good
luck!
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