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“The kitchen was spick and span: the cook said you could see yourself in the big copper boilers. The fire was nice and bright and on one of the side-tables were four very big barmbracks. These barmbracks seemed uncut; but if you went closer you would see that they had been cut into long thick even slices and were ready to be handed round at tea. Maria had cut them herself.”
Maria is a maid at a Protestant charity that houses troubled women. “Clay” opens with a description of the kitchen that Maria has just cleaned in preparation for the women’s teatime. Joyce’s emphasis on the kitchen’s tidy state highlights Maria’s detail-oriented personality. Additionally, his description of the barmbracks emphasizes Maria’s unassuming presence because her hard work would likely go unnoticed unless someone took the time to look closely.
“When she got outside the streets were shining with rain and she was glad of her old brown waterproof. The tram was full and she had to sit on the little stool at the end of the car, facing all the people, with her toes barely touching the floor.”
This passage occurs after Maria has left her place of work for the evening. She is on her way to do some shopping before she heads over to the Donnellys’ party. The dreary weather and the crowded bus makes the Dublin streets feel dull and constricting, a sensation that Joyce repeatedly emphasizes throughout Dubliners. Furthermore, Joyce establishes the extent to which Dublin has infected or imposed itself onto Maria when he writes that Maria’s rain gear is brown. The color brown is repeatedly used throughout Dubliners to symbolize the depressing monotony of Dublin life.
“Everybody said: ‘O, here’s Maria!’ when she came to Joe’s house. Joe was there, having come home from business, and all the children had their Sunday dresses on. There were two big girls in from next door and games were going on… Mrs. Donnelly said it was too good of her to bring such a big bag of cakes and made all the children say: ‘Thanks, Maria.’”
Here, Maria arrives at the Donnellys’ house for their Hallow Eve party. This description of the Donnellys’ home and their guests is meant to highlight Maria’s disconnect from other people. For example, she arrives at the party last after everyone else has already arrived. The description of the Donnelly children playing games in their Sunday best also emphasizes a type of family unit that Maria will never be a part of because she never married and had her own children.
