A COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION

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A Comparison and Contrast of Women’s Representation in Joyce’s “The Dead” and

O’Casey’s “The Plough & the Stars”

Until the mid-20th century, women had no voice in society. Men dominated women in the

private and public spheres. At home, society expected women to execute household duties and

look after children while men participated in paid work. In the public sphere, roles were assigned

as per one’s gender so that women would be restricted to caregiving careers, such as teaching

and nursing. Irish women were no different from women in other societies as portrayed by James

Joyce’s “The Dead,” and Sean O’Casey’s “The Plough & the Stars.” Irish women saw their roles

limited by societal expectations of women as lovers and caregivers. Notably, women’s portrayal

in “The Dead” and “The Plough & the Stars” compare such that: women’s role is limited, and

they are perceived as objects but differ: such that the earlier depicts unmarried dependent women

while the latter portrays courageous and independent married women.

Firstly, women’s role is limited in both “The Dead” and “The Plough & the Stars.” In

particular, women are confined to a domestic setting where they should perform household

duties and caregiving roles. Women in the public sphere are also forced to take “feminine”

careers, such as teaching. In “The Dead,” Freddy Malins’ mother is an outstanding example of

the limitation of women to the domestic sphere.1 The role of Malins’ mother is restricted to

caregiving. Besides, society defines her place as that of a mother. Moreover, her identification

with the title of mother could be limiting her to the roles of a mother. All the same other

characters, such as Gabriel’s aunts, Lily, Kate, and Julia, are also confined to the domestic

setting. They execute domestic roles and depend on men for financial assistance, only to

participate in paid work when men are unavailable. Gabriel’s aunts, for instance, are forced to

1
James, Joyce. The Dead,15.
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find a job when their brother dies.2 Again in the public sphere, Gabriel’s aunts are restricted to

teaching music. Notably, Irish society perceived teaching as a feminine career, which suggests a

limitation of Gabriel’s aunts’ role in the public sphere.

Similarly, O’Casey depicts women who are left looking at children while men go for war.

These women have little money to raise their children properly, which suggests injustice against

women. Mrs. Gogan, for instance, is left to look after the consumptive Mollser and another baby

on her own.3 After experiencing financial challenges, Mrs. Gogan reflects on the work she can

undertake to sustain her family. Upon securing a job, Mrs. Gogan is forced to leave the baby

with Mollser despite being ill. Thus, Joyce and O’Casey’s plays share a similarity in portraying

the limited role of women in their respective societies.

Additionally, Joyce and O’Casey portray women as objects for men’s pleasure in their

play. In one of the scenes in “The Dead,” Gabriel and his wife Gretta leaves a party for a hotel

room. While in the room, Gabriel tries to make love to Gretta only to find his hopes shattered

when Gretta starts to talk of her deceased boyfriend.4 Interpretively, the scene reveals that

Gabriel was concerned about the pleasure of making love to his wife and his failure to support

her emotionally. Thus, Gabriel could have perceived Gretta as a sexual object. Likewise, “The

Plough & the Stars,” depicts Irish women as objects in the face of their men. Nora’s husband

takes her as a sexual object he can play with whenever he needs it. Conversely, society expects

Nora to satisfy her husband’s desires whenever he calls upon her.5 Ultimately, what Nora

considers being a husband’s love turns out to be a game in which he plays when he desires. All

the same, Nora remains a loving wife, who takes care of his husband’s desires without

2
James, Joyce. The Dead, 13.
3
Sean, O’Casey. The Plough & the Stars, 725.
4
James, Joyce. The Dead, 40.
5
Sean, O’Casey. The Plough & the Stars, 733.
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complaining. Therefore, women representation in “The Dead,” and “The Plough & the Stars” is

comparable such that both plays depict women as objects to serve men’s desires.

All the same, the depiction of women in “The Dead” reveals sharp contrast with “The

Plough & the Stars.” One of these dissimilarities is that female characters in “The Dead” are

represented as dependent and unable to change their conditions while their counterparts in “The

Plough & the Stars” are independent and courageous enough to battle their conditions. Gabriel’s

aunts depend on their brother for support. The death of their brother forces them to participate in

paid work. In their house, Gabriel’s aunts live with Mary-Jane, whose situation is quite unstable.6

Mary-Jane finds herself in a challenging moment when her aunts pass on. In particular, she has

to depend on charity from other relatives. In other words, “The Dead” presents dependent

women whose adverse conditions are aggravated when their supporters are absent.

In addition to presenting dependent women, “The Dead” portrays the inability of women

to change their unattractive situation. Joyce presents Irish women who feel the weight of their

unmet potential. Lily, who works for Misses Morkan as a servant girl, is exhausted by the role

she undertakes during the party. In one scene, Lily and Gabriel have a great conversation until

Gabriel suggests that she could be married soon. Lily becomes bitter with Gabriel. As Joyce

writes, Lily “glanced back at him over her shoulder and said with great bitterness, “the men that

are now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you.’’’7 Interpretively, Lily seems to

have reached a point in which she no longer hopes for the best in her life. Besides, Lily’s words

could be interpreted to mean that she is likely to lead a single life. The hopelessness that women

in “The Dead” experience could be linked with the unavailability of options for them. While

these women could execute tasks like their male counterparts, their society restricted them to

6
James, Joyce. The Dead, 1.
7
Ibid, 3.
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domestic roles. Thus, Joyce represents women in her play as dependent and unable to rise above

societal expectations that limit them to the private sphere.

Contrastingly, O’Casey’s “The Plough & the Stars” present autonomous and courageous

women who change situations to suit them. Nora is brave than other men in her society. Despite

being pregnant, Nora participates in the fighting in the streets while looking for Jack. Besides,

she believes that men in her community remain at their posts since they are cowards who cannot

concede that they are “afraid to say they’re afraid.”8 Moreover, Nora challenges gender roles in

her society that put coward men in the front line of war and force courageous women to remain

at home. Besides, Nora has been portrayed as a woman who can change her situation, as well as

that of her society. On close examination, Nora desires peace, and she understands that it starts at

home. Consequently, she engages two men to end the disagreement so that she can receive her

husband. At home, Nora avoids anything that could amount to dispute with her husband. Thus,

Nora differs from women in “The Dead,” such that she participates in changing her situation

while her counterparts show no signs of fighting for what they believe.

Further, women in “The Dead” contrast with those from “The Plough & the Stars” such

that the majority in the former is single while those in the latter are married. Gabriel’s aging

aunts have remained unmarried. Similarly, Mary-Jane is a spinster who lives with her aunts.

During the Christmas party organized by Misses Morkans, the Conroys appear to be the sole

couple to attend.9 Young females such as Lily are also likely to lead single lives as they perceive

their potential suitors negatively. Therefore, Joyce portrays the most unmarried women in his

play.

8
Sean, O’Casey. The Plough & the Stars, 749.
9
James, Joyce. The Dead, 2.
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On the contrary, most women in “The Plough & the Stars” are married. Despite

experiences the challenges of marriage, these women do not give up on their husbands. Instead,

they would go an extra mile in reaching out to their husbands who are avoiding homes during the

war. In addition to sticking to their marriages, women in “The Plough & the Stars” support their

husbands in everything they pursue. For instance, Nora proves to be a source of energy for her

husband. Although Nora’s attempt to get his husband out of the war is unsuccessful, her

dedication is admirable. Thus, whereas Joyce portrays spinsters in his society, O’Casey portrays

married women who support their husbands.

Above all, O’Casey’s play is stereotypical about women, while Joyce’s play has minimal

instances of stereotypes. Society in O’Casey’s play considers women who are openly sexual to

be prostitutes and undesirable. Similarly, women expect fellows to dress appropriately. For

instance, Burgess and Mrs. Gogan perceive that Nora’s low-cut dresses as unsuitable for a

married woman.10 Additionally, women who are portrayed in a positive view are praised for

being good wives and mothers. Joyce, on the other hand, has avoided stereotyping among

women. Perhaps, the only stereotype present in his play is the dependence of women on their

men. Again, Joyce clarifies that the limitation of roles among women could explain the adverse

situation they find themselves. For that reason, O’Casey could be blamed for women

stereotyping, and Joyce praised for avoiding instances of stereotypes.

As illustrated, women’s portrayal in “The Dead” and “The Plough & the Stars” compare

such that: women’s role is limited, and they are perceived as objects but differ: such that the

earlier depicts unmarried dependent women while the latter portrays courageous and independent

married women. In both plays, women are confined to a domestic setting where they should

perform household duties and caregiving roles. The caregiving role of Malins’ mother in “The
10
Sean, O’Casey. The Plough & the Stars, 732.
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Dead” compares with Mrs. Gogan’s who is left to look after children in “The Plough & the

Stars.” Additionally, Joyce and O’Casey portray women as objects for men’s pleasure in their

play. All the same, various areas of contrast are evident in both plays with “The Dead,”

portraying women as dependent and unable to change their conditions. In contrast, women in

“The Plough & the Stars” are independent and courageous enough to battle their unpleasant

situations. Above all, O’Casey’s play stereotypes women, while Joyce avoids such instances.

Bibliography
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O’Casey, Sean. The Plough & the Stars. Print.

Joyce, James. The Dead. Print.