Gallentry is Dead

The definition of a gallant is “a man who gives special attention and respect to women”.  It does not take very long for a person reading “Two Gallants” that the two main characters are not exactly the most gallant people.  The first real dialogue that the reader hears ends with Corley telling Lenehan about a girl who, “Brought me two bloody fine cigars, … She doesn’t know my name. I was too hairy to tell her that. But she thinks I’m a bit of class” (Joyce 37).  Corley shows that instead of treating the woman well and trying to court her, he takes advantage of her for her gifts and deceives her by not even telling his lover his name and faking his social status.  As if these traits do not already prove that at least Corley is not a gallant, the two men plan to manipulate the girl to steal money for them and not give her anything in return. 

The question then becomes why does Joyce title the story “Two Gallants”?  Besides simply for the use of irony, I believe he gives the reader a hint when Lenehan hears in his head thinking about his partner’s task, “Corley’s voice in deep energetic gallantries” (43).  This is the only time in the story that any reference to the word gallant is used, and the word is very misused in the sentence.  While Corley may appear gallant to the girl, his main goal is to convince her to steal from her employers.  Thus, Joyce may be commentating that the Irishman’s goal in getting into a relationship is to take advantage of the woman.  While Joyce had warned Irish women of the dangers of romance in “Eveline”, this is the first time that the threat comes from an Irishman. 

Though Corley is clearly seen to depict the exact opposite of a gallant, what does Lenehan do to be considered a gallant though?  The title explicitly says “two” gallants, but Lenehan only acts as an accomplice to Corley and has hopes of finding a better job and finding a woman to settle down with.