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James Joyce’s “The Boarding House” tells the story of Mrs. Mooney, an imposing woman who runs a Dublin boarding house. When her daughter begins a relationship with one of the boarders, Mrs. Mooney intervenes, ostensibly to save her daughter’s reputation. The story is a contemplation of marriage, gender roles, social pressures, and family dynamics.
The story opens with a brief account of Mrs. Mooney’s history. In two brief paragraphs, the reader learns that Mrs. Mooney is the daughter of a butcher who lost her family business after her violent, abusive, and alcoholic husband lost all of their money. The narrator then explains that Mrs. Mooney separated from her husband and used whatever money she had left to open a boarding house so that she could support herself and their two children, Jack and Polly. These two paragraphs may be short but they are crucial to the narrative as a whole. Mrs. Mooney’s husband drinks and gambles away her father’s business in just a handful of years and leaves her to make ends meet in a patriarchal world that does not afford women the same opportunities as men. Over the course of the story, Mrs. Mooney manipulates Mr. Doran, a moderately successful customer, into marrying her daughter. Her actions depict her as a manipulative and conniving character and while that is certainly the case, the text’s introductory section does provide the necessary context so that readers can understand why Mrs. Mooney orchestrates the match. Mrs. Mooney’s backstory prompts readers to consider not only the material, but also the moral sacrifices women often had to make to win stability.
The plot begins in media res, meaning that it begins in the middle of a narrative. Text’s that begin in media res thrust their readers into the action without immediately explaining the chain of events that led to that moment. However, as the reader makes their way through the story, they can eventually determine that Mrs. Mooney wants to meet with Mr. Doran because he, a grown man in his mid-thirties, had sex with her nineteen-year-old daughter—a plot’s inciting incident. Joyce’s use of plot structure is effective because the lack of initial information forces the reader to make their own assumptions, enabling the reader to engage in the sort of gossip and speculation that the story comments on.
The rising action comprises three distinct points of view. Mrs. Mooney smugly looks forward to her meeting with Mr. Doran because she knows that she is going to “win” the interaction and procure an advantageous match for her daughter—just as she planned. The perspective shifts to Mr. Doran, who is fretting over the upcoming meeting and wishes that he could run away from the Dublin gossip so that he does not have to marry Polly. He sees himself as the victim in this situation and feels that Mrs. Mooney and Polly have conspired against him to trap him in the domestic sphere. Finally, the reader sees Polly’s point of view, as she tearfully waits for her mother and Mr. Doran’s meeting to end, and daydreams about a future with Mr. Doran. The three distinct points of view are a departure form the majority of the stories in Dubliners, which are predominantly told from the perspective of a single protagonist. Joyce’s use of split perspective is effective because it allows the reader to see how each character feels about the affair and the affair’s aftermath. It also aids in characterization as Mr. Doran and Mrs. Mooney’s manipulating and calculating natures are juxtaposed with Polly’s naivety and innocence.
The story’s unconventional plot structure returns in the text’s final moments because it abruptly ends at the story’s climax without offering any real resolution. The story ends with Mrs. Mooney calling Polly downstairs because Mr. Doran wants to speak with her, presumably so that he can propose. Joyce’s decision to end “The Boarding House” before the falling action may seem odd at a first glance. However, a deeper examination of the text reveals that Joyce is once again asking the reader to draw their own conclusions instead of giving them answers, essentially forcing them, once again, to speculate.
