A Shotgun Would Paralyze Me Too

Several times now, the argument has been made, on the blog or in class, that the stories are getting, however marginally, slightly more and more optimistic, almost as if Joyce meant to highlight glimmers of hope for Ireland and Dublin. I cannot yet speak to Joyce's final idea of hope until we have read the whole collection, but in "The Boarding House", it seems that Joyce not only stressed Ireland's paralysis once again, but also made it's power all the more potent.

In the previous stories, whenever a character faced paralysis and its negative effects, the consequences were really not disastrous, just troubling. In "The Sisters", the characters are all too nervous to completely reveal how they feel about the priest and the Church. In "Araby", the boy is very critical of his 'vanity'. In "Eveline", her hesitation potentially even saves her from a lifetime of prostitution. And in all of these cases, it seemed to be something inherent in society, an atmosphere that no one could really explain, but just had to live with. 

But in this story, Doran faces not only social damages, but severe economic and physical risks. He works for a "great Catholic wine merchant" and has a "bit of [money] put by" (76), but both he and The Madam understand that if the knowledge of his affair were to go public, he could lose his job and end up economically destitute, a far cry from the more mild results seen earlier. And the implication that Jack would "bloody well put his teeth down his throat" (79) is an obvious physical threat never seen before that Doran is understandably not willing to ignore.

More ominously, the Madam's manipulation of the situation is our first clear indication of any individual exploiting the paralysis to her own benefit. It is an open acknowledgment by Dubliners that this culture exists. Social stagnation no longer appears as an intangible force, but a very practical tool. The Madam thinks of the many reasons why Doran will have to obey her, noting his age, Polly's inexperience, and her social standing as an outraged mother. It becomes quite clear when the Madam thinks "she was sure that she would win" (75) that she exploits him to gain for her daughter a superior socio-economic status, as if it was just a game.

We know from the story's start that the Madam's own marriage quickly soured and she, despite the overwhelming  stigma, was able to leave her husband without social alienation. If anything, one might expect her to be more understanding of Doran's situation, but instead she's happy to force the reluctant couple into a  shotgun wedding. Is Joyce trying to imply that only cruel people like the Madam have a chance at some freedom from paralysis? Or that the paralysis is so deeply rooted in both the culture and people of Ireland that absolutely no one is willing to combat it?