Mrs. Mooney
is the clear protagonist of “The Boarding House” in James Joyce’s short story collection Dubliners. The story begins with her perspective, and her concerns and actions drive the narrative action.
Who is the main character in the boarding house?
Polly Mooney
He lives in the boarding house, works as clerk in Dublin, and is known for liking to fight, curse, and bet. His protective attitude toward his sister, Polly, strikes fear into Mr. Doran. Mrs.
What is the boarding house by James Joyce about?
‘The Boarding House’: plot summary
In summary, ‘The Boarding House’ focuses on
Mrs Mooney, a married woman who has separated from her violent husband, a butcher, and set up a boarding house
on Hardwicke Street in Dublin.
How old is Mr Doran in the boarding house?
In his mid-30s
, Mr. Doran has held a steady job for 13 years working for a Catholic wine merchant. Despite “sowing his wild oats” (that is, having many sexual relationships) and flirting with atheist ideas as a young man, Mr. Doran has led a respectable life for several years now.
Who in the boarding house has hopes and visions?
In Mr. Doran’s company,
Polly
seems distraught that her mother has discovered the relationship, even threatening to kill herself, but as soon as she’s alone she escapes into cheerful hopes and visions of the future.
Why does Mr Doran marry Polly?
Also, he is concerned that Polly might try to “put an end to herself,” and he fears the wrath of Polly’s brother Jack. Despite the fact that he does not love her, and that his family will look down on the marriage because
the Mooneys belong to an inferior social class
, Doran agrees to wed Polly.
Did Doran marry Polly?
He is afraid of the church and he is afraid to lose his job in the Catholic wine merchant office. Thus,
Mr
.
Doran
had no other option than
marrying Polly
.
What was the last name of the owner of the boarding house?
Mooney
Character Analysis. The protagonist of the story, Mrs. Mooney is Polly’s mother and the owner of the boarding house.
What is the setting of the boarding house?
“The Boarding House” by James Joyce is set in
Dublin
and was probably meant to be set at the beginning of the twentieth century as most of the stories in the collection “Dubliners”.
Who lived in Mrs Tremblay’s boarding house?
Mooney opens a boarding house to make a living.
Her son, Jack, and daughter, Polly
, live with her in the house, which is filled with clerks from the city, as well as occasional tourists and musicians. Mrs.
How does Mr Mooney succeed in her mission at the end?
Mooney has achieved what she’d hoped to: a better marriage for Polly than her own marriage had been. Mr. Mooney went “to the devil” after Mrs. …
Doran
is a good man—a godly man from a nice family—and she allows him to become obligated to her daughter in order to make sure that her daughter’s marriage is a happier one.
What is the Epiphany in the boarding house?
The epiphany is
the realization of wanting to escape from a certain situation but also realizing that social conventions will make that escape difficult or impossible
. The reason they can’t escape from what we are to assume is their inevitable marriage is because of societal pressures.
What are Mrs Mooney’s motivations in regards to her daughter?
She knows that life is hard
and in an unforgiving, judgmental and less-than-perfect environment for her daughter, she knows that it will be difficult for Polly to marry well and secure her future.
Why did boarding houses disappear?
Boarding houses began disappearing
after World War II
, killed by the postwar economic boom, suburbanization, white flight, and the emergence of the nuclear family. The people that remained in SROs were overwhelmingly poor, homeless, or transient. As a result, they became associated with urban decay and Skid Rows.
Where does the term boarding house come from?
1530s, “supplying of meals, food and lodging,” from board (n. 1) in its extended sense of “food” (via notion of “table”). Boarding-school is from 1670s; boarding-house
attested from 1728
.
When did boarding houses stop?
Boarding houses were common in most US cities throughout the 19th century and until
the 1950s
.
