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Betrayal
Deception, deceit, and treachery scar nearly every relationship in the stories in Dubliners, demonstrating the unease with which people attempt to connect with each other, both platonically and romantically. This is certainly the case for the characters in “Two Gallants” because both the platonic and romantic relationships exist under threat of betrayal. Lenehan and Corley are clearly friends, but both men suspect that the other is trying to betray them over the course of the story. For example, Corley is immediately suspicious when Lenehan expresses an interest in the maid because he is concerned that Lenehan might either go after the woman he is seeing or attempt to cut him out of the plot and commit the robbery without him. Lenehan shares some of the same concerns at the end of the text when he assumes that Corley has betrayed him and kept all the money for himself. Even Corley’s romantic relationship with the maid has the potential for betrayal because either one could report the crime and get the other into trouble in order to absolve themselves of any blame. This sense of betrayal evokes not only the sense of displacement and humiliation that all of these Dubliners fear but also the tendency for people to categorize many acts as “betrayal” in order to shift blame from themselves onto others.
Misogyny and the Plight of Women
Lenehan and Corley spend the majority of their time walking through the streets of Dublin talking about women. It is instantly apparent that neither of these two men have any respect for the women in their lives. The two men joke about women in their lives becoming prostitutes, Corley brags that he is able to coerce women into giving him free gifts without ever giving them his name, and Corley and Lenehan’s entire plot hinges on Corley convincing the maid that he is dating to steal money from her wealthy employer. The two men also never refer to women by name. Instead, they call them “tarts,” a demeaning name for a promiscuous woman. The most significant and most revealing display of misogyny in “Two Gallants” occurs about halfway through the text when Lenehan catches his first glimpse of the maid as she stands on the street. Lenehan offers no insight to the maid’s personality but he does give a detailed description of the woman’s attractive appearance. His lengthy description travels up and down her body and forces the reader to participate in Lenehan’s voyeuristic leering. These two men desire women and they also require a woman to enact their plot. However, they do not value women beyond their sexual or financial use.
The Desire for Escape
The desire for escape is a recurring theme throughout the short stories in Dubliners. The characters in Dubliners may be citizens of the Irish capital, but many of them long for escape and/or adventure. Such longings, however, are never actually realized by the stories’ protagonists. While eating dinner at a Dublin refreshment bar, Lenehan ponders his pitiful life. He wishes he could escape from his world of plotting, gambling, and stealing, but he knows that he does not have the courage to do so. He may fantasize about a stable job and a cozy home but the ending of the short story suggests that he will never be able to break free of his current lifestyle. The impulse to escape from an unhappy situation defines Lenehan, but so does his inability to actually undertake the process.
