Currently viewing the tag: "counterparts"
Note: The following text is that of the author’s presentation at the XXV James Joyce Symposium held in London in June 2016. The original, shorter London entry can be found here.
Across the Water:
Economic and Political Implications of the Dubliners London References
Dubliners, the work through which Joyce initially sought to […]
Shelbourne Road, located in the southeastern suburban part of Dublin, is referenced in “Counterparts” as the place where Farrington exits the tram on his way home. He has just finished his frustrating impromptu pub crawl, and now, out of money and “full of smouldering anger and revengefulness” (96), he makes his way to his home […]
Mentioned in three of the Dubliners stories, Westmoreland Street is located in Dublin city center. It runs from O’Connell Bridge in the north to its intersection with Grafton and Dame Streets and Trinity College gates in the south. It was built as part of the Wide Streets Commissioners’ “bold geometric plan” to “link … the new […]
Eustace Street, which appears only in “Counterparts,” is the street where Farrington’s office is located. He is a copyist, or a scrivener, like the famous Bartleby, who, like Bartleby, has had enough of taking orders from his boss. But unlike Melville’s scrivener who simply responds to any request with “I would prefer not to,” Farrington […]
Sharing a name with the famous London locale, Fleet Street in Dublin is a busy pathway just south of the Liffey connecting Westmoreland Road with the bustling Temple Bar (another name echoing the London scene) district. In Dubliners the street appears in one story, only briefly, in reference to a character’s job and in another as […]
Most Joyce enthusiasts, and even many non-enthusiasts, recognize Davy Byrne’s as the place where Bloom ate a cheese sandwich and drank a glass of burgundy in Ulysses. Many a Bloomsday pilgrim has stopped into the pub over the years to experience a moment in the life of Leopold Bloom, and literary […]
The Tivoli Theatre is mentioned twice in “Counterparts” as the venue where Weathers is performing:
“Leonard introduced them to a young fellow named Weathers who was performing at the Tivoli as an acrobat and knockabout artiste. Farrington stood a drink all round. Weathers said he would take a small Irish and Apollinaris. Farrington, who had definite […]
The path Farrington travels in “Counterparts” is confined to the south side of the Liffey. Most of the story sees him wandering between pubs in the Temple Bar area. He visits places like Davy Byrne’s, The Scotch House, and Mulligan’s in Poolbeg. Once he runs out of money and […]
Referenced in six stories, London consistently carries connotations of economic dependence or opportunity for the Dubliners who were, at the dawn of the twentieth century, experiencing rather dismal prospects in the marketplace. In fact, much of the paralysis depicted in the collection stems from characters’ vocational or financial challenges. As Continue Reading →
This week’s featured place is Mulligan’s, a pub in Poolbeg Street that serves as the setting for Farrington’s arm wrestling match with Weathers in “Counterparts.”
It’s also where Farrington admires the lady from London, wishing that he hadn’t already spent all his money standing drinks for Weathers. It’s the final bar of the night, after […]
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