Description of Relationship between Men and Women in "Grace" and "Counterparts" by James Joyce
Many experts believe James Augustine Aloysius Joyce had a great impact on the global culture. Author’s biography shows his father lost most part of his fortune and often changed jobs to earn money for his family. Joyce reflected this childhood experience in his works. Main characters of his short stories Grace and Counterparts meet this image partly. Works have several similarities, like the described period of time, family’s financial state, the amount of children and husbands’ drinking issues. They also create a similar feeling of incompleteness, as the author finished both stories on the culmination, and readers do not know how characters will
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The Grace has only one female character (Mrs Kernan). She was described as an “active, practical woman of middle age” (“Grace” 8), who was able to be a good housekeeper for years despite the fact she started to find a wife’s life unbearable after several weeks of marriage. Mrs Kernan does not have many lines, and the author stops to mention her in the second half of the story as he focuses on men. The short story Counterparts demonstrates three female characters with words or actions: Miss Parker (secretary), Miss Delacour (client) and an unnamed actress. Farrington’s wife appeared in the story only in several mentions and husband’s screams “Ada! Ada!” (“Counterparts” 14) at the end of the story. The name of this short story could be a result of differences in couple’s appearance and their relations. Mrs Farrington was described as “a little sharp-faced woman who bullied her husband when he was sober and was bullied by him when he was drunk” (“Counterparts” 14). Wives in both works play similar roles: they look after the house and children and try to control their husbands. The last goal is often achieved when men are sober. Husbands and other males were treated as earners; this attitude was highlighted in Mrs Kernan’s thoughts about her two eldest sons: “they were good sons, wrote regularly and sometimes sent home money” (“Grace” 9). Women in Joyce’s families had the main task to defend “back areas” without a right or wish to take serious part in men’s talks. In Grace, Kernan’s friends started to pursue their plan after the woman’s approval, but she did not take part in the discussion; it supports the idea of the previous