(Bates) Backwater Dublin

In his book The Dubliners, James Joyce portrays Dublin as a backwater and underdeveloped city, particularly when compared to other European capitols. This theme is especially potent in the story “A Little Cloud,” which details a meeting between two old friends: Little Chandler, a submissive and sheltered man who works a desk job, and Ignatius Gallaher, a well-traveled, successful newspaperman for the London Press. Little Chandler, when placed beside Ignatius Gallaher, comes to represent Dublin through his lack of determination and naïve tendencies.

Joyce describes Little Chandler in the statement, “His hands were white and small, his frame was fragile, his voice was quiet, and his manners were refined.” Such details depict Little Chandler as meek and easily overlooked, and by extension, Dublin. Further, Joyce describes Little Chandler’s smile as “a row of childish white teeth.” This comparison to a child implies that Dublin has yet to develop.

Yet Dublin’s portrayal as a juvenile becomes more pronounced when Little Chandler meets with Gallaher at Corless’s. First, Corless’s atmosphere, with its French and German-speaking waiters and finely-dressed patrons, stands as an anomaly within Dublin, which is characterized by “gaunt spectral mansions” and “decrepit old men who drowsed on the benches.” It becomes a reflection of the flashy and fashionable European cities like London and Paris. Thus, Corless’s serves as a perfect setting for Little Chandler’s meeting with Gallaher. During the reunion, Gallaher brags about his experiences, making Chandler feel unaccomplished and dull. After detailing a particularly scandalous story involving an English duchess, Gallaher says, “Here we are in old jog-along Dublin where nothing is known of such things.” This belittling statement discredits Dublin, suggesting that it knows nothing of the adventurous and social culture that the rest of Europe enjoys. The jibe is reflected in Chandler’s incessant blushing at Gallaher’s statements. He is embarrassed by the uncouth practices his friend describes, thus showing his outdated and naïve outlook of the world. As he has spent his entire life in Dublin, it can be assumed that he learned these views from his culture.