In an essay of 2000 words, discuss the ways in which relations between the sexes are

depicted in Dubliners and two New York texts.

In both James Joyces Dubliners and Langston Hughes's twentieth- century New York poems,
each city is explored through glimpses into the lives of its citizens. With specific reference to
The Sisters, The Dead, Pushcart Man and Harlem Sweeties, this essay will discuss how
relationships between male and female inhabitants are represented through a number of literary
devices by highlighting differences in style and form. Similarities in theme, specifically that of
male dominance, will contrast the stylistic differences and show that, despite these variations,
the two cities are much the same with regard to the way in which relations between the sexes
are depicted.
In many of Joyces stories women are assigned matriarchal or domestic roles. This is evident in
both The Sisters and The Dead. In each text much of the background activity is focused on
and carried out by female characters who fulfill traditional functions such as providing food or
care. The first depiction women in Dubliners is so, and one which continues throughout the
story: I came down to supper my aunt was ladling out my stirabout (Joyce, 1914, p.7), Mr.
Cotter might might take a pick of that leg of mutton, he added to my aunt. (p.9). The sense
of their almost auxiliary function is highlighted by opinionated male characters who forcefully
propound their views: My idea is asserts Cotter, Thats my principle, too... agrees the uncle
(p.9). Women, by contrast, seem not to express opinions in the presence of the dominant
males. Their language is less insistent and focused on others rather than themselves.
Whilst the mens speech is peppered with self-referential first person pronouns (I wouldnt
say..., I wouldnt like, I have my... ), the women speak only of others, subtly underlining their
secondary status. Indeed the only the views offered by female characters are given in the
presence of each other and the narrator, an adolescent as opposed to part of the patriarchy.
This circumstance might suggest that women are expected to behave with servility around men,
depicting the dominant, if not subjugating, role of men.
Domestic provision becomes a central theme in The Dead, with the majority of the plot
unfolding at an annual party thrown by two sisters and their niece. Where in the first story of
Dubliners the allusions to matriarchy come in the form of subtle and circumstantial first- person
narrative, in the last the focus is not on a supporting domestic role, but rather their generous
hospitality, celebrated in Gabriels speech: we have been the recipients - or perhaps, I had
better say, the victims - of the hospitality of certain good ladies (p.260). Women are often
presented as demure, self- conscious characters: Great applause greeted Mary Jane as,
blushing and rolling up her music nervously, she escaped from the room (p.239), Aunt Julia
shrugged her shoulders and said with meek pride... (p.248). Whilst the two aunts are tightly
attuned to the party they are giving (Haslam, 2012, p.56) it is Gabriel who is tasked with
repression and control (Haslam, 2012, p.57), a characteristically male employment. His
place at the head of the table and delivery of the speech affirm this position. Although the
women throw the party, male behaviour still dominates the proceedings. Much of the story prior
to the concerns the activities of men: Gabriels insistence that Gretta wear galoshes, the

concern over the state of Freddy Malins, Mr. Brownes animated conversation. All of a
sudden, Miss Ivors punctures the atmosphere by overtly challenging Gabriels patriotism. He
is taken aback by her blunt attack, a look of perplexity appeared... and scared, too, of the
intellectual threat she poses: he could not risk a grandiose phrase with her (p.241). Her
character injects a jarring and antagonistic foil to the female personae which have for the most
part been modest, coy or retiring. She successfully opposes both male dominance and the
traditional female role with her fearless assault on Gabriel, who appears to be the alpha male,
overtly challenging the hierarchy. Where Miss Ivors flagrant demonstration of feminine
assertiveness is unmistakable, a far more subtle demonstration of female potency becomes
evident later in the text, a faculty which will be discussed soon shortly.
Joyces stories provide the reader with detailed snapshots into the lives of Dublins inhabitants
from which a sense of the citys diversity is given. His cross-sections are as varied as those
elucidated in Hughes's Pushcart man. Where Joyce devotes chapters of varying length to
the exploration of social microcosms and the relations within, allowing for extended
characterisation and slower development of narrative, Hughes's prose is a lightning fast
presentation of Harlems Eighth Avenue. His quick-fire third person narrative presents the
interplay between characters without opinion: he makes no moral judgements (Asbee, 2012,
p.114), leaving discourse between male and female personae embedded throughout to be
interpreted by the reader alone. Joyce makes frequent use of adverbs which colour the readers
understanding of relationships: she said almost testily, announced blandly, drew Gabriel
aside hurriedly (p.232). Whilst these descriptions are given by an omnipotent narrator and as
such are seemingly unbiased, the dominance of masculine thought and action throughout the
story might lead one to affiliate them with a pervading, almost patronising, male voice.
Hughes's reportage is more direct, characterising his residents with simple adjectives which shift
the focus onto their words and actions, allowing the reader to perceive relationships directly
through their exchanges:
An old gentleman who whose eyes followed a fat dame in slacks muttered, Her
backside looks like a keg of ale.
Its a shame, affirmed a middle-aged shopper on her way in the chicken store, slacks
and no figure. (Harper, 1996)
Here the views to which we are party are those of the population themselves, untainted and
conspicuous, but loaded with colour and variety nonetheless. They all represent a slice of
society and show through their speech the relations between the sexes. The old man objectifies
the fat dame, the young punk talks back to the Sister, the dark young fellow tries to assert his
authority over the girl. These snippets are telling of the dominance that male voices exert over
their female counterparts, particularly as the Sisters religion has no influence, and the portly
matrons directives are ignored yet, the cop still has enough presence and status. Hughes
style is fleeting, creating a swift succession of incidents hinting at the transiency of the
connections he presents and contrasting with the deeply embedded and developed

relationships between Joyces characters (Asbee, 2012). The theme of masculine control
nonetheless remains.
Hughes depicts another facet of relationships in his poem Harlem Sweeties (Rampersad, 1994)
in demonstrating what might be deemed an appreciation of the female form. The title,
suggesting a term of endearment while hinting at the tantalising content to follow, could also be
perceived of an objectification of the women he describes. This presumption is for the reader
to decide, however, and the tone of the poem is celebratory rather than critical, particularly in
contrast to the observations of the old gentleman in Pushcart Man. His lexis is luscious and
mouthwatering, appealing to male desire and hunger through the use of a vast array of
sensuous, food- related metaphors. The phonetic features of the piece emphasise the appeal
through the use of assonance, consonance and rhyme: Peach-skinned girlie, / Coffee and
cream, / Chocolate darling / out of a dream. and Glow of the quince / To blush of the rose. /
Persimmon bronze / To cinnamon toes. The stress pattern seems to fall regularly on the
descriptive words, drawing further attention to the physical beauty of the women of Sugar Hill
and creating a rolling rhythm which compliments the gradually progressing rhyme scheme.
An effect of this combination is to create a sense of bounty, temptation and appreciation
which is compounded by the observations that: Feminine sweetness / In Harlems no lack
and All through the spectrum / Harlem girls vary. The poem ends by inviting the reader to
discover Harlems Rainbow-sweet thrill by taking a Stroll down luscious, / Delicious, fine Sugar
Hill. As complementary as the poem may appear, there remains the explicit idea that the
women of Harlem are to be selected and enjoyed, an objectification which is intensified by the
absence of any suggestion of their humanity, intelligence or role in society. Here the
relationship between men and women is reduced almost to the level of prostitution: the
predatory masculine voice invites its kin to come and choose women for their pleasure and
nothing else.
Joyce, too, speaks explicitly of beauty, desire and lust, but his depiction is tempered with a
sense of deep emotional anxiety, passion and love, qualities which are not hinted at by Hughes
in either piece. The humanity of relationships is explored in the final scene of The Dead
as Gabriels heart is pulled to-and-fro by the story of his wifes past love. Paralysis, another
central theme of Dubliners, is also met within the context of his marriage to Gretta. In the
confines of their hotel room, He longed to cry out to her from his soul...overmaster her (p.279).
His desire is almost palpable, but stunted by the physical and emotional space between them:
She went out to the window...looking out (p.279), If she would only turn to him or come to him
of her own accord! (p.279) and she did not answer nor yield wholly to his arm (p.280). The
recurring motif of the mirror and the window magnify both the distance between them and
Gabriels inability to express himself. The window, out of which Gretta gazes, is a window
which looks out from their present life together and into the tragedy of her past, perhaps
showing that she is not concerned with the immediacy of Gabriels self-absorbing, volatile
emotions. As Haslam notes, Grettas emotional life takes place ina rural past (Haslam,
2012, p.65). Yet still she has concern for him as she turns from the window with all her thoughts

and her past, and goes to him. He is frustrated, fraught, trembling now with annoyance
(p.279), almost powerless in the face of his impetuous desire (p.280). He wishes to master
her strange mood (p.279), yet he is made supplicant by her words. In praising Gabriels
generosity, Gretta turns him upside-down and leaves him trembling with delight...brimming over
with happiness, wondering why he had been so diffident (p.280). Her femininity and purity
overwhelm him: A kinder note than he intended went into his voice (p.281) and yet he is
humiliated (p.282), seized by vague terror (p.283), jealous of the love the young boy once had
for her. His immediate, corporeal lust is finally replaced with deep sympathy and an
introspective consideration of death and the passing of time: one by one, they were all
becoming shades (p.287). For all the respect he commands in his position as a pillar of the
community, all his poise, control and alpha-male status, Gabriel ultimately, and shamefully, saw
himself as a ludicrous figure, acting as a pennyboy for his aunts (p.283).
Gabriels epiphanous moment acknowledges a truth about relationships which subtly underpins
The Dead; the male characters, whilst seemingly dominant, are all the while impotent without
their feminine foils. The loud masculine behaviour exhibited at the party, whilst appearing to be
dominant, only has a platform because of female hospitality. Without the rigorous preparation
and planning, the behind-the-scenes organisation and the subtle string pulling of the matriarchy,
there would be no stage for the peacocking and bluster of the male characters. Indeed, Miss
Ivors successfully challenges the notion of male dominance by unnerving him...with her critical
quizzing eyes (p.246). The quiet importance of the matriarch is equally evident in The Sisters,
with women being responsible for domestic provision and the detail of such serious matters as
caring for the terminally ill and making funeral arrangements: getting in the woman to wash him
and then laying him out and then the coffin and then arranging about the Mass in the chapel
(p.16). Hughes also points to such requisite female roles in Pushcart Man: the woman
comes to take her husband home, the Sister represents the moral high-ground in minding
Harlems language, the girl fetches ice-cream to soothe her mother who is prostrate with the
heat and the portly matron chides the children, discouraging them from fighting and being out
so late at night.
Each author demonstrates facets of the relations between the sexes through a variety of
differing techniques, both illustrating the themes of male dominance and lust, as well as the
underlying and crucial importance of matriarchal activity. In Joyces stories and Hughes's
Pushcart man there is the subtle insistence that without women, the seemingly male dominated
societies may just fall apart. Joyce employs complex characterisation and slow plot
development, Hughes reveals simple yet telling snapshots, but both deliver the same message.
The predatory nature of male desire is apparent the works of both authors, but where Hughess
narrator is crass and salacious, Gabriel shows that underneath the surface, his desire is
tempered by tender sentimentality.
[2192 words]

References:

Asbee, S. in Asbee, S. and Haslam, S. (eds.) (2012) The Twentieth Century,

London, Bloomsbury Academic / Milton Keynes, The Open University
Harper, A. (1996) in Asbee, S. and Haslam, S. (eds.) (2012) The Twentieth
Century, London, Bloomsbury Academic / Milton Keynes, The Open University
Haslam, S. in Asbee, S. and Haslam, S. (eds.) (2012) The Twentieth Century,
London, Bloomsbury Academic / Milton Keynes, The Open University
Joyce, J. (1914) Dubliners Clapham, M. and Reynard, C. (eds.) Ware,
Wordsworth Editions (this edition 1993)
Rampersad, A. (1994) in Asbee, S. and Haslam, S. (eds.) (2012) The Twentieth
Century, London, Bloomsbury Academic / Milton Keynes, The Open University