il “quadro” di Dublino di James Joyce


                                                    Statue of James Joyce in Dublin 
James Joyce set his main works in Dublin, his birthplace (luogo di nascita).

In the Dubliners (1914) the author wants to show a picture of Dublin as a town paralyzed into his culture and traditions. The protagonists of the 15 stories are, conditioned by oppressive canons of personal, religious and social conformity, fail to free themselves (non riescono a liberarsi)  from frustration, alcoholism or inertia. To convey this idea he uses a realistic language mixed with symbolic images and, In particular, Joyce uses the epiphany, a sudden revelation of a hidden thought (un’improvvisa rivelazione di un pensiero nascosto): an image, a music, a meaningless (privo di significato) event can provoke the epiphany.

The stories cover four basic aspects of man’s life: childhood, adolescence, maturity and public life. The last story,  The Dead, is outside this pattern (schema); it was added later (aggiunta più tardi) and it seems to offer a less negative “epiphany” as the protagonist – Gabriel Conroy – thinks to go away to have a journey and free himself from the oppression.