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If Mr. Duffy encapsulates the deadening cycle of monotony, Mrs. Sinico represents the way out. She meets Mr. Duffy by chance when they are seated next to each other in a concert hall and the pair immediately strike up a rapport. After meeting coincidentally another few times, they start to meet at Mrs. Sinico’s cottage where they discuss politics, music, and books. Mrs. Sinico brings a spark to Mr. Duffy’s meaningless life and makes him feel more alive. In that regard, Mrs. Sinico is essentially a character device, introduced into the narrative to save the protagonist from his dull and boring existence. Interestingly, despite being such an important figure to the story’s protagonist, readers know very little about Mrs. Sinico. Aside from a brief overview of her family unit, she does not provide any substantial information about herself. In fact, the only facts afforded to the reader about her come from other characters, and not from Mrs. Sinico herself. Mrs. Sinico’s husband claims that there has been a rift in their otherwise happy marriage for the past two years and her daughter claims that she has a drinking problem. None of this information comes from Mrs. Sinico herself, which causes the reader to question the validity of the claims. Joyce likely kept Mrs. Sinico at arm’s length from the reader to mimic the distance that Mr. Duffy, our protagonist, places between himself and Mrs. Sinico and humanity in general.
