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“I told her I was out of a job… I told her I was in Pim’s. She doesn’t know my name. I
was too hairy to tell her that. But she thinks I’m a bit of class, you know.”…“Of all the good ones ever I heard…that emphatically takes the biscuit.”
This is an exchange between Corley and Lenehan as they walk through the streets of Dublin. Here, they are discussing the multiple ways that Corley has successfully deceived the woman with whom he has a date with later that night. It may seem like a relatively harmless moment but Corley’s manipulation and Lenehan’s amusement convey how little they value women. Both of these men are clearly misogynistic and neither of them see women as their equals.
“[Lenehan’s] eyes made a swift anxious scrutiny of the young woman’s appearance. She had her Sunday finery on. Her blue serge skirt was held at the waist by a belt of black leather. The great silver buckle of her belt seemed to depress the centre of her body, catching the light stuff of her white blouse like a clip. She wore a short black jacket with mother-of-pearl buttons and a ragged black boa. The ends of her tulle collarette had been carefully disordered and a big bunch of red flowers was pinned in her bosom, stems upwards. Lenehan’s eyes noted approvingly her stout short muscular body.”
Here, Lenehan admires the maid before she and Corley leave for their date. Lenehan does not speak to the woman or express any interest in her character. Instead, he is content to objectify her from a distance. Joyce’s description of the maid moves from one body part to the next, mirroring the way Lenehan methodically scans each component of the woman’s figure. The scene has a sinister tone because the maid is unknowingly being sexualized and subjected to the leering male gaze.
