The Condemning Of Traditional Relationships In Joyce And Shakespeare

traditional relationships. Both Joyce and Shakespeare explore the condemning of traditional relationships through the egotistic, money driven relationship between characters. Joyce parallels the economic state of Ireland after World War One to relationships commonly seen in Ireland, often expressing the suppression of women and the acquisitive quality of the stereotypical Irish man. Shakespeare also shows the falseness and egotistical manner of traditional relationship through Claudius and Gertrude. Both examples heavily concur to Fromm’s notion that material focus in relationships is the cause of the malfunctioning of love. Considering this both Joyce and Shakespeare distort manipulate the use of ‘love tokens’ as a way of condemning relationships,

The root of love between Claudius and Gertrude’s marriage lies in the hypocrisy and stability of it. Much like the economic needs of Corley, Gertrude relies on marriage to avoid monetary struggle and power loss. Gertrude’s character is egotistical, seeking only for the desire of station and affection as well as having a tendency to use men to consummate self-preservation. Proven through the lack of love in her relationship with Claudius. Claudius’s unlawful, murderous acts builds the foundation of their love on falseness and lies. Moreover, Hamlet condemns their relationship after his parley with his father, exposing the truth of his ‘foul and most unnatural murder’. Incestuous desire also plays in the core of condemnation in traditional marriage and relationships in ‘Hamlet’. Hamlet’s hyperbolic language in Act 1 Scene 2, “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” This sharp lexis exposes the depth in which he despises their marriage. Gertrude still recoils back to the stability of Claudius even after Hamlet accuses and exposes his mothers fickle disloyalty and moral standards in Act 1 Scene 2, “Frailty thy name is woman” furthers her inability to support and think critically herself responding to Alchin De Botton take on marriage, that ’we don 't understand ourselves’, Gertrude dependable manner suggests her moral compass and

The letter symbolises Eveline’s desperate attempt to find goodness in her father despite his cruelty, Joyce illustrates a dismal atmosphere “the evening deepened in the avenue” paralleling to Eveline’s mind, reflecting upon her tarnished past. As “the white of two letters in her lap grew indistinct” Eveline realises that the only happy memory with her father was when ‘he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire”, illustrating an unfulfilled childhood and the unromantic, disappointment sequence of events that appear in Dublin life. In her hope for a better future, Joyce uses ‘Eveline’ to coexist and respond to “Celtic Twilight story telling” and “tales of young women possessing visionary insight, or sacrificing themselves for a patriotic cause”. Joyce mocks romantic celtic writers, for sharing false hope of a utopian world to Dubliners. Parallels can also be drawn by both Joyce and Shakespeare utilising flowers as a way of distracting humanity from the emotional side of love, condemning traditional tokens and relationships. Additionally, the distorted use of ‘love tokens’ is shown through Ophelia’s flowers in Act 4 Scene 5. The physical aspect of a flower is one of fragility and delicacy, as the play unfolds there is a clear indication that Ophelia increasingly becomes more unstable and