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Relationships are often transactional.
There are two main relationships in “Two Gallants”: the friendship between Lenehan and Corley and the romance between Corley and the maid. As the story progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that these relationships are not exclusively based on affection (be that platonic or romantic) and are, instead, much more transactional in nature. Lenehan is friends with Corley but Corley is the idea-man who makes them both money. Corley is friends with Lenehan but Corley is a self-obsessed individual who uses his friend as a soundboard to bounce all of his thoughts off without ever letting him get a word in. Corley is a self-professed ladies’ man but he is quick to brag about all of the free things (cigarettes, cigars, tram tickets) that he is able to score from the women he dates. All of these examples highlight the lucrative nature of relationships. It is worth mentioning that the maid is the only character that does not appear to gain anything from her relationship with Corley. As a result, Joyce implies that women are often taken advantage of in these types of transactional relationships because patriarchal societies view them as the inferior sex.
People will go to extreme lengths to save themselves from destitution.
None of the main characters in “Two Gallants” have any money. The only wealthy character in the text is the maid’s boss, and he is only ever referred to by other characters; he never makes an actual appearance in the text. This is meant to accentuate the class imbalance that divides Dublin. “Two Gallants” is filled with characters who must go to extreme lengths to save themselves from destitution. Some notable examples include the women on the turf becoming prostitutes in order to make some money, the maid cleaning other people’s houses for a living, Corley becoming a police informant and relishing in the opportunity to receive gifts from women, Lenehan’s affinity for horse race gambling and, of course, Corley and Lenehan’s plan to coerce the Maid into stealing money from her wealthy employer. It is even implied that Corley has acted as a quasi-pimp in his past. In all of these examples, the characters engage in morally dubious activities in order to combat their descent into poverty. One can not help but wonder if the events in the story would have gone differently if these characters had enough money to lead more stable lives.
Dublin is in a state of decline.
Dubliners contains fifteen portraits of life in the Irish capital which peer into the homes, hearts, and minds of people whose lives connect and intermingle through the shared space and spirit of Dublin. Rather than present intricate dramas with complex plots, “Two Gallants” and the rest of the stories in the collection sketch daily situations in which not much seems to happen. Though these events may not appear profound, the characters’ intensely personal and often tragic revelations certainly are. It is essential to note that none of these stories paint Dublin in a particularly flattering light and “Two Gallants” is no exception to that rule. It is an unfiltered tale filled with poverty, the mistreatment of women, and crime. It is also, undeniably, Irish. Joyce crams his short story about the seedy underbelly of city life with iconic Dublin landmarks such as Trinity College, the Duke’s Lawn, and Merrion Square. These repeated references to Dublin life make it impossible to imagine this text being set anywhere else. As a result, Joyce forces the reader to subconsciously link the city of Dublin with the acts of depravity that make up “Two Gallants.” He does so to comment on the concerning decline that he feels is plaguing the Irish people.
