Role of Gender Examined in Dubliners

The excerpts we have read in Dubliners thus far have provided ample evidence to the importance of gender in Joyce's work. The juxtaposition of Eveline and Araby provide insight into the different worlds of women and men at this time. The male narrator in Araby is desperate to escape his confinements and oppression by adults to go to Araby and buy a gift for his love. Conversely, in Eveline, the female character is attempting to run away with the soldier she loves but is being confined to her world by her abusive father. Both passages are similar in the sense that they represent oppression and limitation of youth in the name of love. However, they are different in that the male narrator goes to all lengths to achieve his goal while the female, when given the opportunity to follow her love, backs out.

- Olivia Greenberg, Rebecca Finkel, & Haley Fitzpatrick