Humour in Some Experiences of an Irish RM

by Orsolya Halmi
2009
Edith Somerville and Martin Ross were one of those Irish writers who liked to
ridicule and caricature the Irish Some Experiences of an Irish RM !resents such a
humorous ima"e of the Irish !eo!le In the time of the #aelic Revival$ while such
writers as %illiam &utler 'eats and (ady #re"ory were stru""lin" to save the Irish
lan"ua"e from disa!!earin"$ Somerville and Ross followed a different kind of trend
Some Experiences of an Irish RM is a book that does not follow the trend of
the #aelic Revival$ its themes and style are closer to the rather mainstream writin"s of
the time )he book brin"s nothin" of the "lorious Irish !ast into the fore"round$ like
(ady #re"ory*s collection of myths$ and neither does it have that solemn style of
%illiam &utler 'eats*s !oetry Instead$ it is a collection of funny stories relatin" the
adventures of an Irish Resident Ma"istrate in the Irish countryside
)he book is divided into twelve stories$ all !resentin" different adventures of
Ma+or 'eates$ who had recently been a!!ointed as Resident Ma"istrate in the %est of
Ireland Humorous situations and ridiculed characters !ermeate the stories$ which
adds an ironical atmos!here to the whole Instead of "ivin" a realistic !ortrait of the
Irish$ the characters are all flat$ ty!olo"ies rather than individuals )he book has been
labeled a ,sta"e Irishman- since it creates a stereoty!ical ima"e of the Irish created by
the &rits )his is !artly the reason why it can be listed amon" the mainstream
writin"s. the book fulfills the readers* e/!ectation 0Stevens 12
)he humorous undertone is !revalent even from the very be"innin" of The
Irish RM In ,#reat 3ncle Mc4arthy$- the first anecdotal story in the Irish RM, the
reader finds the first traces of irony when readin" about the new residence of the
Ma+or$ the dila!idated houses with its roofs half missin"$ the owner*s ridiculous under
evaluation of the dama"es
1
and the absurd 5uarrel between the !lumber and the
car!enter.
6t the end of three weeks the latter 7the contractor8 re!orted !ro"ress$
which mainly consisted of the facts that the !lumber had accused the
car!enter of stealin" si/teen feet of his inch9!i!e to run a bell9wire
throu"h$ and that the car!enter had re!lied that he wished the divil
mi"ht run the !lumber throu"h a wran*s 5uill )he !lumber havin"
reflected u!on the car!enter*s !arenta"e$ the work of renovation had
mer"ed in battle$ and at the ne/t :etty Sessions I was reluctantly
1
,)here*s a few little odd thin"s to be done$- he said easily; ,a lick of !aint here and there$ and a sla!
of !laster- 0Sommerville and Ross 22
2
com!elled to allot to each combatant seven days$ without the o!tion of
a fine 0Somerville and Ross 29<2
)his !assa"e already hints at the Irish character ty!olo"ies mentioned earlier
and further is hi"hli"hted by Ma+or 'eates*s observation about his own character. ,I
am short9si"hted; I am also of Irish e/traction; both facts that make for toleration =
but even I thou"ht he was understatin" the case- 022 )his is the first direct
stereoty!in" of the Irish su""estin" that the Irish are a tolerant nation satisfied with
almost everythin"
In ,#reat 3ncle Mc4arthy- the reader "ets ac5uainted not only with the
Resident Ma"istrate and the conditions he is to be livin" in$ but also with characters
that will follow Ma+or 'eates throu"hout his adventures One of them is Mr >lorence
Mc4arthy ?no/$ who is described by the narrator as one who looks like ,a stable boy
amon" "entlemen$ and a "entleman amon" stable boys 7belon"in"8 to a clan that
cro!!ed u! in every "rade of society in the county- 0Somerville and Ross @2 Mr
>lurry*s 0as he is called later on2 demeanor !lays u! to the e/!ectations of the reader
as the storyline evolves
)he horse deal followin" >lurry*s arrival "ives evidence to the short but witty
descri!tion 5uoted above )he totally ina!!ro!riate circumstances for the horse deal
seem not to bother >lurry$ who$ a"ainst 'eates*s reluctance easily mana"es to sell him
the horse Moreover$ the narrator*s reasons for buyin" the horse seem all the more
absurd. ,I decided that as he had neither fallen down nor kicked me off$ it was worth
!ayin" twenty9five !ounds for him$ if only to "et in out of the rain- 0Somerville and
Ross @2
)his is followed by many other comic situations$ but the story basically
revolves around 3ncle Mc4arthy*s "host livin" in the house rented by the ma"istrate
)he stran"e sounds and incidents occurrin" in the house at ni"ht are treated by 'eates
as !erfectly normal to such an e/tent that it becomes 5uite comical He comments on
the "host*s ni"htly activities. ,>riday ni"hts he made coffins and drove hearses;
durin" the rest of the week he rarely did more than !atter and shuffle in the attics over
my head- 0Somerville and Ross 122 >urthermore$ the house is not only ,haunted- by
the ,"host- but also by other stran"e inhabitants and visitors of house$ like Mrs
4ado"an$ the chimneyswee! and others$ who also end u! in funny situations
)he clima/ of the story$ however$ is the moment when the ,"host- is
accidentally unmasked in the form of some relatives of Mc4arthy*s who have been
<
livin" in the u!!er room the house and have been continually roamin" the house at
ni"ht$ drinkin" the Ma+or*s drinks and conductin" ille"al fo/ trade under his name
)hus$ the story is basically built u!on absurd situations and misunderstandin"s$
which$ on the one hand$ amuse the reader$ on the other hand$ are char"ed with irony
)he irony in ,3ncle Mc4arthy*s #host- serves as a ste!!in"stone for criticiAin" Irish
stereoty!in"
)he second story$ ,In the 4urranhtlty 4ountry$- centers around the fo/ hunt
!resented as the ty!ical leisure activity of the Irish "entry However$ a ty!ical fo/
huntin" turns out to be a 5uite interestin" adventure es!ecially for the narrator$ who$
after havin" "ot lost$ is seen !innin" u! ,&obbie- &ennett*s hair 0which was thou"ht
to be indecent at the time2 )he tri!$ the +ealous behavior of Mr )omsy >lood$ the
dance and its aftermath are all !arodies rather than a realistic !ortraiture of "entry life
)he fo/ hunt and huntin" is "eneral is described as the favourite s!ort of the Irish
well9to9do$ yet the narrator seems oddly ill at ease in the !resence of the huntin"
!arty$ as well as on the horse and at the dance
)he erotic hair !in u! is one of the most memorable scenes in this story$ hi"hly
comic and sli"htly e/a""erated for a modern day reader.
I looked u! and down the road; there was no one in si"ht I offered to
do it for her Miss &ennett*s hair was lon"$ thick$ and soft; it was also
sli!!ery with rain I twisted in conscientiously$ as if it were a hay ro!e$
until Miss &ennett$ with an irre!ressible shriek$ told me it would break
off I coiled the ro!e with some success$ and !roceed to nail it to her
head with the hair!ins 6t all the most critical !oints one$ if not both$
of the horses moved; hair!ins were driven home into Miss &ennett*s
skull$ and were with difficulty !lucked forth a"ain; in fact$ a more
harrowin" !erformance can hardly be ima"ined$ but Miss &ennett bore
it with the heroism of a !in9cushion 0Somerville and Ross <B2
)he !assa"e then continues with the sudden arrival of the huntsmen !arty$
who$ havin" noticed the scene$ ,were "rinnin" from ear to ear- 0Somerville and Ross
<@2 )he embarrassment of the Ma"istrate further increases the absurdity of the
situation and adds to its humour
)he writers seem to be deli"htin" in creatin" uncomfortable situations for the
characters$ which !roves to be main source of humour in the book )he em!hasis$
nevertheless$ lies on the role of the main character$ who$ as a first !erson narrator$
C
conveys the situations from a sub+ective !oint of view ,Sinclair 'eats is a buffoon
who is sub+ect to the +okes of the Irish locals that he attem!ts to re"ulate- 0Stevens 12$
and he seems even to lau"h at himself at times 04ahalan B02 )hus$ it is !artly the
style$ not the content that creates this stron" humorous atmos!here
In addition$ as an em!hasis on humour$ the social !osition of the narrator
further ridicules the situations he is continually cau"ht u! in One instance is the
stealin" of the colt in the third story$ ,)rinket*s 4olt- On seein" the o!!ortunity for
business$ >lurry decides to steal one of his "randmother*s colts with the reason that it
would have been an intended "ift from his "randmother anyway 'eates ends u! a"ain
in a dan"erous situation that would +eo!ardiAe his social !osition and rank$ until at
last$ the scenes become e/a""erated and childish. he finds himself on all fours hidin"
in the "rass near the colt which is half9buried in the "round )he tension builds u! as
'eates "ets closer to bein" discovered$ until the final moment of revelation$ when all
three fall into ,wild cackles of lau"hter- 0Somerville and Ross @12 )he final words of
Mrs ?no/ convey not only her sense of humour but it also e/em!lifies the clever
witticism that !ermeates the book.
,I*ll thank you$ sir$- she said$ ,to di" out that horse before I leave this
!lace 6nd when you*ve du" him out you may kee! him I*ll be no
receiver of stolen "oodsD-
She broke off and shook her fist at him ,3!on my conscience$ )ony$
I*d "ive a "uinea to have thou"ht of it myselfD- 0Somerville and Ross
@19@22
Mrs ?no/$ however$ is nothin" more than another ty!ified character She
becomes yet another caricature throu"h the ironic !ortraiture of her house$ her dress$
her words and her meal.
7H8er evenin" dress was accom!lished by means of an additional white
shawl$ rather dirtier than its con"eners; Einner was as incon"ruous
as everythin" else Eetestable sou! in a s!lendid old silver tureen that
was nearly as dark in hue as Robinson 4rusoe*s thumb; a !erfect
salmon$ !erfectly cooked$ on a chi!!ed kitchen dish; such cut "lass as
is not easy to find nowadays; sherry that$ as >lurry subse5uently
remarked$ would burn the shell off an e""; and a bottle of !ort$ dra!ed
in immemorial cobwebs$ wan with a"e$ and !robably !riceless
0Somerville and Ross F92
F
)he su!erficiality of the dinner$ the mannerism of the characters and >lurry*s
!lan to steal his own birthday !resent are the sources of humour in this e!isode
However$ another im!ortant source of humour is the name of some of the
characters >rom the very be"innin"$ the Ma"istrate*s name strikes the reader as odd$
since it has stran"e affinities with the !oet*s$ 'eats*s name )akin" in consideration the
fact that 'eats was a contem!orary of Somerville and Ross$ it is !robably not by
chance that a similar name is "iven to the central character of The Irish RM Since
'eats followed one direction as far as literature is concerned$ Somerville and Ross
followed 5uite the o!!osite; therefore$ the similarity of the name of 'eats and 'eates
mi"ht be an ironical allusion to the course 'eats and his friends were takin" in their
attem!t to revive the Irish #aelic lan"ua"e
6nother interestin" name is that of >lorence ?no/ His nickname$ >lurry$ is
humorous in its multi!le meanin"s )he dictionary defines ,flurry- as noun meanin"
,a ra!id bustlin" commotion- and as a verb$ ,cause to feel embarrassment-
0%ordweb2$ an allusion to ?no/*s un!redictable tem!er and odd ideas$ as well as his
relationshi! with the other characters in the book
6ll in all$ the sources of humour in The Irish RM are various and numerous;
the writers ,confront human venality and failure in the comedy of the Irish RM
stories$ where the humour often derives from the way in which 5uite catastro!hic
events are !resented in an utterly calm and uninvolved manner- )he humour here
serves as a tool for subvertin" the romantic ideolo"y of Home Rule and the Irish
:roblem 0Oxford Companion F<02
B
%orks 4ited
4ahalan$ Games ,Humor %ith a #ender- The Comic Tradition in Irish Women
Writers. ed )heresa O*4onnor$ 3niversity :ress of >lorida. #ainesville$ 199B
!! FH9@2
,>lurry- Wordweb Dictionary .! 200C
Somerville$ Edith I and Martin Ross Some Experiences of an Irish R. M$
(on"mans$ #reen$ and 4o. (ondon$ 1902
Stevens$ Gulie 6nne J)he Irish RM and his e/!eriencesJ The "iterary Encyc#opedia
Khtt!.LLwwwlitencyccomL!h!Lsworks!h!MrecNtrueO3IEN21BFHP 1F May
2009
The Oxford Companion to Irish "iterat$re, ed Robert %elch$ O/ford 3:. Qew 'ork$
199B
@