The Boarding House, Book Review Example

Mrs. Mooney was a butcher’s daughter. She was a woman who was quite able to keep things to her: a determined woman. She had married her father’s foreman and opened a butcher’s shop near Spring Gardens. But as soon as his father-in-law was dead Mr. Mooney began to go to the devil. He drank, plundered the till, ran headlong into debt. It was no use making him take the pledge: he was sure to break out again a few days after. By fighting his wife in the presence of customers and by buying bad meat he ruined his business. One night he went for his wife with the cleaver and she had to sleep a neighbor’s house

James Joyce “The Boarding House” involves a narrative of Mrs. Mooney who is on bad terms with her husband, a butcher submerged in to the habit of alcoholism, beating his wife as the customers watched and brought bad meat in the butchery for sale leading to its collapse after the death of his father-in-law. She took the option of separation with the consent of the priest and given the responsibility of caring for the children. Mooney received no care in terms of money, food or houseroom resulting to his life as a sheriff man living in a desperate condition. Mrs. Mooney benefited from the remnants of the butchery to run a house in Hardwicke Street that is boarded for the purpose of occupation by the tourists, artistes, clerks, all who deeply respected her.

The intention of Mrs. Mooney is to demand for a marriage or an open disclosure of the situation. Doran has therefore to contemplate in a nervous manner about the weight of loosing job as a result of the affair together with the bemoans of the lower background of the class of the girl as well as her speech vulgarities. The entry of Polly in a state that is agitated is a clear indication that she was the initiator of the relationship. The exit of Doran is accompanied by an impression of content on the par of Polly which is a suggestion of the fact that she was showing anguish for the sake of Doran

They paid for the services at fifteen shillings on a weekly basis for the drinks as well as entertainments with the daughter of Mrs. Mooney, Polly being an entertainer of the boarders through singing as well as flirts with the boarders. She was a smart girl who was initially a typist in corn-factors office which was disrupted by his father thus she worked as a house help and entertaining the borders from where a relationship develops (Joyce, 18-23). The silence of the mother results a complicity between them leading to a strange behavior in Polly while Mr. Doran became perturbed causing Mrs. Mooney to decide to intervene. This took place in one of the bright Sundays in summer and after a careful preparation for the discussion which made it easy for the two to come in to terms as Polly gave the most frank answers in response to the interview of her mother.

So Mrs. Mooney decided to settle the issue with Mr. Doran who had abused the hospitality given to him after living under the roof of Mrs. Mooney. Her social opinion gave her the confidence to face him Doran who is at the middle of his thirties in age and was a worker in the wine merchants’ office of the Catholic Church for a number of years. He could not therefore plead that he was youthful but had taken the advantage of the youthfulness and inexperience in Polly. The only reparation of choice for Mrs.  Mooney was marriage for the purpose of the honor of her daughter. Although Mr. Doran was a serious man, un-rakish or even loud-voiced as was the case with the rest, Mrs. Mooney was determined for success (178-24). Therefore, before the intervention of Mrs. Mooney, there is a biding of her time with an implication of the fact of an attempt of trapping Mr. Doran. Polly also takes her courage to tell Mr. Doran about the situation that is anticipative. Doran has therefore to weigh the situation.

Works Cited

Joyce, James.  The boarding house. NY: Education, 1982.

Trevo, William. The boarding house. NY:Penguin, 1983.